Thursday, May 19, 2005

We're not at home to Mr Cynic

Repeat after me:
  • Episode III did not suck
  • Episode III won't suck more each time I see it
  • Charlton Heston was not dressed up in a Darth Vader suit shouting, "Noooooooooooo!", despite the battle scene at the Planet of the Apes, I mean Wookies
  • Jedis can fight, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary (Samuel L. Jackson not withstanding)
  • All the loose ends are not tied up in the last 10 minutes of the film (that takes at least the last 15 minutes)
  • There are several professional actors involved in this production
  • George Lucas will not be making Episodes VII, VIII and IX
I love this film! Roll on Saturday and my next viewing.

Star Wars Episode III review

omfg it rocks! Whilst many people's expectations were blunted by the shortcomings of Episode I and II, Revenge of the Sith really does the business. You should definitely go and see it.

...spoiler...

...spoiler...

...spoiler...

It's not perfect for sure, there are some lame moments and the Emperor is back to his worst Return of the Jedi campness at times. And what is it with the wookies doing Tarzan impressions? Not nostalgic, just silly - especially as they're swinging over open water this time! :) At times the film feels a little hurried, like when Anakin finally decides to turn to the Dark Side, which takes all of 20 seconds of anguished decision making. And then at the end the young Skywalker twins are given away by OWK express delivery without a word said. A little like the Return of the King ending, like the director wasn't quite sure how to let go.

But overall, a fantastic film, it had me and most of the midnight audience on the edges of our seats for the whole time. It's definitely dark and tragic but not the "bloodbath" that some critics had called it. And it has its comic moments (some of them even funny) and its triumphant moments - the whole cinema cheered when Yoda force pushed the Imperial Guards aside without even a sidewards glance. :) There are a lot of nice "completing the circle" moments, even the small touches - the interior design of Bail Organa's Corellian cruiser looks just like Leia's from the opening of A New Hope. I have a feeling this is a film that will reward repeated viewings (at least that's what I'll tell Rose-Anne!).

Next stop, the weekend, I get to take the kids to see it - Jasmine is bursting to get to go. I'll be the same for the next two days I think. It was worth the wait

For those of you who hate Star Wars, you might like to watch instead Star Wars Episode III: A Lost Hope, it is absolutely hilarious. If you love Star Wars, you'll like this spoof even more!

Saturday, May 14, 2005

Who is the Bad Wolf?

Strange goings on in Doctor Who land, Episode 12 has now been revealed as "Bad Wolf", a phrase which has been popping up in every episode to date. Detailed Bad Wolf dissection here...

Blogpoly - Monopoly Internet style

Blogpoly is a fun remake of Monopoly based on Internet properties. No doubt this will seem dated real fast. But for now, Google is Mayfair. Huzzah!

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Squint and you can see it

If you look really closely there's a one pixel dot that a Scientist says looks like the lost Mars Polar Lander. That's the opinion of Michael Malin of Malin Space Science Systems who has been re-examining pictures taken by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft which is orbiting Mars.

Read all about the "true" story of the vanishing Mars probes here. :)

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Firefox 1.1 review

Fedora Core blog has a fine review of the updates coming in the next few months in Firefox 1.1:
  • improved incremental rendering of pages, especially on Linux
  • improved Preferences user interface (aka yet another user interface for Preferences, or is it called Options this month?)
  • performance improvements for tabbed browsing
  • fixes to some rendering bugs, including one that affects Slashdot's front page (Bug 217527)
  • A new "Sanitize" option that deletes all your sensitive information from your profile for additional security.

Labels:

Mars Express deploys first radar boom

One of my Martian colleagues, the European Mars Express spacecraft, has managed to successfully unfurl the first half of its radar device. This will be used to scan for sub-surface water on the Red Planet if the second half makes it out in one piece. There was a fear that when deploying the boom it would rebound and strike the spacecraft. Shields are down to 30% already after the constant Klingon attacks, so this could cause some serious damage.

But all went well, perhaps we'll find those underground Martian hot tubs after all.

Friday, May 06, 2005

Blair loses two thirds of the vote...

...wins election.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Google Web Accelerator

Google has released a beta of the Google Web Accelerator for Firefox and Internet Explorer (Windows only) which is designed to Make Things Go Faster. It uses Google's many data centres to cache web content, prefetch content to your PC (a little like Firefox can), compress data, send only updated parts of pages when possible and then present you with a cute "Google saved you 15 minutes of your life this week" counter in your browser. :)

There's an FAQ for how it works, privacy and security questions, how to turn it off for certain sites.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Star Wars Episode III roundup Lego style

Despite the many stories (all apparently true) that Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith will not premiere at the famous Graumann's Chinese Theatre, where the original Star Wars premiered in 1977, the line outside continues undaunted. The line recently had a visit from Episode III actress Bai Ling, who plays Senator Bana Breemu in Episode III. Their superlative queuing exploits have been immortalised by that ultimate force in historical recognition, Legoland.

In the all-things-Star-Wars-dept I have been tantalised by the Darth Vader Mastercard, the fine Darth Vader blog (check this one out if nothing else!), and the Light Side/Dark Side PC mods from those fine people at Alienware.

I just have to save up now to replace my aging Star Wars IV - VI videos with that nice Trilogy DVD set....


Free Dalek computer game

If you're still working out your pity or exterminate the Daleks angst like me, you might appreciate the BBC's fun Flash game, The Last Dalek. A fine website they've put together! You get to help the poor Dalek escape whilst exterminating all around you. Everyone's a winner!

Sunday, May 01, 2005

You would make a good Dalek

I'm not sure I like the new Doctor Who pyscho-analysing himself. I think the old Doctors did have their moments of "should I, shouldn't I", in fact often in connection with wiping out the Daleks once and for all. None with such a "I've become what I most hate" obviousness though. Or maybe I was younger then. Jasmine's instinctive reaction, "poor Dalek", was more shocking. :) Even Rose-Anne joined in the argument on the side of the Doctor, from her vantage point behind the sofa.

So I feel a little let down by the one and only appearance of the Dalek (singular). The recycling of the jokes and the lines from the first time the Daleks flew up stairs were a let down too, although to be fair, I'm not sure many people heard them the first time round.

Perhaps it is just a childhood favourite being taken over by a new generation - I don't like the new way!