3.5) Rachel Weisz. Girl is just too cute for words. That, and her turn in the
Mummy just hit all my buttons. (Flowy dresses. There's just something about
them that is *so* fetching...)
4) Protect internet freedom! Be aware of what's going on with respect to
our shared realm. I'm serious. If we're not vigilant, *THEY* will win, and
we can't let that happen. Let the overturning of the CDA remind you of how
close they came. Point your browsers this
way.
Rant of November 2004
Life rules.
Bought a house, found the girl of
my dreams, life is FREAKIN' SWEET....
For more on me - check out my livejournal at www dot livejournal dot
com! (If you want access to my rants and raves, just ask rustmon
to friend ya!)
(so, don't look here for my rants - look *there*! ;)
Rant of August 2003
So, I dunno. Life is. For someone that is going to be moving his whole
life 1500 miles, you know - I'm remarkably calm about it.
I think it's because I'm going out to the wild blue yonder to make something
for myself, and stop being so complacent.
Yep - I know. I suppose I could have done it here - but the reality is
I have peeps on both coasts I need to be with. It makes sense to hang
in the middle of the country.
God, I'm so pumped to see the leaves turn gold and the snow fall.
Rant of July 2002
So, I was going thru my pages, and just kind of updating them. I realized
that I prolly should write something here.
I'm slightly spent. Last thurday, my entire group was told that they
were going to be laid off in a week and 2 days. We've been scrambling
for jobs. Some of us found them. Others could not, or were manouvered
out of them. That's a little hard to swallow (although, not surprising,
especially not in today's climate...)
So, I was one of the lucky ones. I found something local - something
that actually appears to be better than my previous job. I'm still very
bummed, tho.
What about the H-1 folks?
What about the folks with newborn children?
Good god. Silly Valley is so depressed, and now this. *My* peeps. *My*
house.
*GAH* Most of me wished that they would have done this over a month,
to give everyone enough time to get their stuff together. You know, I
understand. It comes down to simple economics. But a week? IMHO, it isn't
enough time.
At first I was adamant about it. I still am, sorta - but the word around
when I asked my buds about it was that it was due to issues of severance.
Now, I heard that other companies gave their employees a month to find
other jobs, get their affairs in order, and then gave them 2 months of
pay. Other companies gave their employees 6 months. Still others, though
- gave their employees their last paycheck and that was it.
I don't want to write the same old 'this fucking sucks!' line, but I'm
not sure how else to express my displeasure. I always feel the same way,
but the stuff that happens with C. is just more heart-wrenching. Last
night was the first night I slept for more than 7 hours straight since
Thursday. It's weird. I was gone from the group for a year. A whole bloody
year. And I still felt like I was home when I came back. I just knew I
was going to be alright, now that I was back with my old group, you know?
Everyone welcomed me back openly, and it felt right. 14 days of bliss.
(Yes, 14 days. No, we won't go there.) And then - *zip!* watch the rug!
*Sigh*
These guys are family. I've been a lot of good places, in a lot of states.
I've felt close to folks, like I was when I was at N. But the building
from the ground up, man - that is what *makes* shit special!And I was
there. Working side by side as we started this, and as it grew up, and
as we created policies for it, and procedures, and wrote the code, and
tried to make it work. The cool thing was that we did. We got the whole
jammie to work. (Hell, I remember the arguments I had with folkies in
the hopes that they wouldn't overextend it...)
It doesn't feel like 'We were so close! They took it away before we could
finish!'. But it does feel like 'Yep, you did it! Thanks for all the hard
work you've done! Bye!'. And that, well, that just hurts.
I could expand on this forever, and yell and scream. But it won't do
any good, I know. So, I'll leave you all with this:
NB: "You okay?"
RL: "No."
Rant of April/May 2002
This rant is dated 25 April 2002. Kind of weird that it's 3 months *exactly*
since I wrote that My Knight was a Punk. He is. He's a punk that can kick
my butt. Ow.
But, that's not why I wrote today. Why is Rusty writing today? Ehh. He's
feeling ehh.
Why?
BECAUSE SPIDER-MAN and ATTACK OF THE CLONES AREN'T HERE YET! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Best damn trailers this side of the pecos, and I can't even see 'em.
Dag nabbit. I want to see the MOVIES! And I want to see Lord of the Rings
again, and Harry Potter, and OOH! That comes out like in a month on DVD!
I was thinking (Oh no, yep, I'm thinking again - shoot that fool NOW!!!!)
about hosting a party where we watched it like 5 times in a night. Now,
I know that everyone believes I'm batty. They're right. But still.
Hmm. What else can I rant about? Dunno, really.
I know! the Mets (GO AMAZIN'S!!!!!!) are in 2nd place in the NL East!
Wahoo!
And Herman (THE MAN) is beginning to bring the Jets back. Slowly. Surely.
One step at a time.
Let the Green Lantern (Wayne Chrebet, baby!) lead the way:
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
no catch shall escape my sight,
let those who worship Football's might,
beware my power,
Green Lantern's light!"
(of course, paraphrased from DC Comics. All rights reserved.)
We're out! Time to watch baseball, babay!
Rant of January 2002
This rant is dated: 25 January 2002.
My Unruly (his word) Knight is a PUNK!!!!!!! *G*
Rant of September 2001
This rant is dated: 5 September 2001.
Okay. First of all - nobody is even going to believe this.
Nobody. I just know it.
You are warned that you're probably going to lose it over the next sentence.
I'm in love with Martha Stewart.
That's right. You read it here first.
((Now, before you (or her) goes off the ringer - understand that I don't
want to meet her, or marry her, or anything like that. This is very much a
"love from afar" type deal. I just think she's neat.))
So, how did this all come about?
Well.....
So - I'm a bachelor.
And, when you're a bachelor, you need to know how to do certain things.
Like: Wash clothes. Buy towels. Cook. etc.
Now, my Mom (who rocks) taught me how to do these things. But - I 'm a guy.
I have no fashion sense. I have no concept of what modern women like and think
are cool.
So - I'm chilling at home one day.
And I'm flipping channels.
And I see this lady talking about how to buy plates and glasses.
"Whoa. Cool. Chicks 'll dig those If I buy 'em", say I.
So, I keep watching.
And I learn something.
Man, I even learn about like plants and stuff.
Not like I'll ever use it (I have one plant. I try to make sure it doesn't
die. So far, I'm winning the battle. Barely.)
But still, me (a guy) learning something about house stuff? Cool.
So, the next day, I flip back.
And I learn something else.
One day, I even learned about how to fold towels. That, that was cool. (Yes,
there is a hyphen. Go away.)
Then something happened, and I knew I was in love.
So - I'm watching one morning, trying to get ready for work.
This lady is on, trying to teach Martha (and her viewers, like me) how to
cook something.
She was pretty damn snooty. She's in Martha's house, being snooty to Martha
in Martha's kitchen.
Now, see - if it were my Mom, she'd be toast.
But, Martha's on TV. She can't just shoot her down. She's too nice.
Instead (now, this - this is cool.), she puts a little bit extra oil in the
pan, and makes sure the fire (any self respecting cook cooks with gas, not
electric) is up high.
So, when the snooty lady picks up the pan to make sure it's coated evenly,
a little bit of oil drips over the side.
And catches fire. The whole pan lights up for a few seconds (you know, like
when you light a drink on fire? like that.)
The snooty lady jumps back like she's been stung.
Martha apologizes profusely, but has the barest hint of a smile on her face.
Martha 1, Snooty Lady, 0.
Now, I know that Martha can be aloof, but dude - she just proved (today)
how cool she was.
She had a show with Elmo.
That's right - Elmo from Sesame Street.
Now, that. That's cool.
Martha rocks.
Gotta see what she does tomorrow...
- Rant of October 2000
This rant is dated: 17 October 2000.
The New York Mets have reached the World Series for the first time in Fourteen
(14, count them) Years.
Since the Time of Doctor K. Strikeout King.
Since the Time of the Straw Man at his height in baseball.
Since the Time I was 16 years old.
The Mets. The team I have rooted for, and loved, for all the time when I
could truly remember what baseball was. 1984.
God, I was a sickly kid then - my body was just starting to outgrow Asthma,
and for the first time, I could do things.
I could ride a bike (without training wheels).
I could run through the park without gasping for breath.
I could play baseball. And I SUCKED. But, I could play.
And play I did. I immediately gravitated to the underdog - the Mets. Scrappy,
young, underpaid. underthought.
But they played with their whole heart. Not with the rantings of a power
mad rich guy who could (and had) buy a Series Ring. But the power of drive.
And the determined heart of legends.
I remember watching that series, and rooting for them every step of the way.
When I (stupidly) turned off the TV the night of the 6th game.
And missed the most defining monent EVER in the history of the game.
Where mere heroes became myths, and legends became real.
And I have kicked myself EVER since, because for a moment, I forgot about
the drive.
The drive that made Buckner drop that ball.
The drive that made the Cardinals bobble so many routine plays.
The drive that made Hampton blank a quality team. Not once. But twice.
The drive that kept Big Mac out of the game, and out of the picture.
And just like the determination of old, the one that will let them vanquish
The Yankees or The Mariners.
Not like it matters.
Metropolitans: I will never forget that drive again. I promise.
Let's go Amazin's. Let's kick some ALCS ASS and bring it all home.
Not for that Asthmatic kid back then.
But for the destiny that was, and will be, again.
Aww Yeah.
Mariners in 5, Yankees in 6.
Rant of April 2000
This rant is dated: 18 April 2000.
You, know - computers suck. well, I shouldn't say that *they* suck. What
I should say is that the people who PROGRAM them suck. Let's examine a particularly
nasty case of this, shall we?
As we all know, it is tax season. Yep. The season where you give the government
a whole passel of cash, and they use it to fillibuster and railroad and hem
and haw, and pass laws and oil the machinery to make our nation the grand
thing that it is. Yep. It even works, for the most part. But you know, my
quarrel isn't with them. I've actually been fairly happy of my government's
performance as of late.
The tax software makers......NOW THOSE are the rat-bastards I wish to talk
about. Kiplinger's Tax Cut. Now - I've been using this software for 5 years.
5 DAMN YEARS!! And I've always filed my taxes by hand.
Not this year.
This year, however, I file electronically. (Hey, you know - I figure - "what
the hell?!?")I sign up, I find my e-file number. (Having to dig through MOUNDS
of paper to get to it, I might add.) I send in my federal and state taxes
in through this wonderful system. I even check it to make sure that it got
my return correctly through their 'secure server'.
And that, boys and girls, is where the fun starts.
On 16 April, while I'm travelling, I check my email in the airport like any
self respecting geek would do. I'm happily reading my email, when I see a
note from the Tax Service Center. "No sweat", say I. "It'll just tell me that
it processed my return, and all will be well.
Wish I could be that lucky.
I discover, much to my chagrin, that the software has made a mistake, and
instead of paying the IRS the entire amount listed, it pays them *only* the
first digit.
Great.
"No problem!", I say. "I'll just use that handy dandy voucher that they sent
express mail, and mail it first thing Monday morning!!! I'll have the problem
solved before breakfast, and all will be well!
That would, of course, mean that they actually sent it express mail instead
of priority mail. That would, of course, mean that I actually got it Saturday
(since the letter was dated 13 April, and the email was dated 14 April.)
Try again.
I get the letter Monday afternoon. At *4:30* Monday afternoon.
I, like everyone else, have to do the last minute post office dash.
18 April.
The miniscule amount that was reported to the IRS was sent.
The voucher was sent in.
However, there's been no state withdrawl.
Yet.
Can you say PIECE OF MY MIND?!?!
Yes, you can.
Rant of 1999
This rant is dated: 20 May 1999.
Alright, folks - this is a *commercial* rant. It's weird that I would be
writing a *commercial* rant, but this time, it's totally warranted.
Before I begin to piss folks off, I must first emphatically state that I
am in *no* way affiliated with George Lucas, or any of the entities that are
associated with him. Don't know him, never met him, don't want to be him.
(heh, if Lucasarts wasna so far away, I'd probably try to apply there for
a job, tho....) I'm just some guy who likes to watch the flicks that he makes.
That said....
2 words.
CRITICS SUCK.
Why do they suck? Let's take a look.
Movie critics are (supposedly) a wonderful classification of person who get
paid to watch movies and present a mostly impartial, informed opinion of what
they saw to their readers. <sarcasm> Oh, if only the world were perfect.......</sarcasm>
Okay - I just came from watching the new Star Wars flick. (Just like everyone
else, right)? Now, this was the movie that got panned by critics who essentially
said, "awesome graphics, no plot." Before blowing my top, I figured I had
to get a look in order to form my own opinion, so I did. What follows,
of course, is my review. Keep in mind, I get paid to be a e-commerce computer
geek, not a movie critic. But, I do watch movies, and I know what I like.
Movie: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Rating: 3.75 stars/4
Commentary:
I have one sentence for the professional critics: Since *when* does a
story have to fit into one movie?!? I mean, come on! This movie was a
*perfect* example of what an excellently crafted prequel should be. Period.
After watching it, it leaves me with a lot of questions, but it also provides
a wonderful foundation for what is to come, as well as for what happened in
Episodes 4-6. (I'm trying hard here not to reveal parts of the movie, out
of fear of ruining it for folks that haven't seen it yet.) Lucas, as usual,
has done a masterful job of setting the stage, both mentally with his story
concepts, character creation and movie flow, and physically (digitally) with
his near deitic attention to detail. (Robots should always deploy like that.
Costumes should be that grandiose. Interactions should always be on both physical
and mental levels. Etc.)
Critics have said some of the following about the movie, and I'd like to
respond to them:
"This has very little plot." Hmm, let's think about this for a second.........Wasn't
the plot already established in episodes 4-6? Does the dictionary definition
of *PREQUEL* need to be re-referenced? If that's too much to handle, then,
let's think about the movie itself, and think: "Simplicity......Bad tries
to conquer good. Good resists. Even though bad has help, so does good and
good prevails...for now........A very basic plot, done countless times by
other epic flicks and already covered to a certain extent in episodes 4-6,
too. This movie is supposed to set the stage for the next ones, not be a separate
entity all unto itself.
"The serious scenes were not as touching as in the earlier movies."
4 words: "Anakin and his Mom." 'nuff said.
"There are no characters like Han Solo." You're right. Not at all.
There are, however, 2 Jedi Knights, a queen, a precocious child, and a soon
to be evil emperor. Plenty of new characters for me! All movies aren't going
to have someone like Han, and they shouldn't.
"Not enough action." 3 words. Jedi/Sith fight scene. Any more questions?
"The dialogue is too banal." Um, this is a space epic - what, do you
expect soliloquies every other scene? The dialogue was just fine. Don't just
hear the words, *listen* to them and understand their context. I think if
you do that, you'll have a much better opinion of what was going on. If people
can't really watch this movie and understand what Mr. Lucas is trying to do,
that's just too bad.
Some things I didn't like: Jar Jar was a little too grating, I wanted
more on Darth Sidious, some of Ani's exploits pushed the belief envelope.
But those points are *so* minor!!!!!! This movie left me the same way the
original Star wars did: breathless and wanting more. And I have no doubt that
Lucas will fulfill his end of the bargain. In spades.
Anyway, to close this out before it gets too long and rambly (it's probably
there already), I leave you with this final sentence.
The whole is equal to the sum of parts, not the other way around. Remember
this when you look at this movie.
Watch and enjoy! Go see it lots!
RETURN
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