I Saw Shrek 2 Tonight -Saturday, May 29, 2004 -12:08 am-
Eh.
Meta
Eh.
Saturday, I was wandering around CompUSA while Mary and Michelle wandered around World Market. In the discount pile, I stumbled onto a Pioneer DV-563A. The DV-563A plays Red Book (CD), Orange Book (CD-R/RW), White Book (VideoCD), Blue Book (Enhanced CD), Beige Book (Kodak/Fuji PhotoCD, Digital Versatile Disc - Video (DVD-V), Digital Versatile Disc Minus Recordable (DVD-R), Digital Versatile Disc Plus Recordable (DVD+R), Digital Versatile Minus Rewritable (DVD-RW), Digital Versatile Disc Plus Rewritable (DVD+RW), Super Video CD (SVCD), Digital Versatile Disc - Audio (DVD-A), and Super Audio Compact Disc (SACD). It contains an onboard PAL->NTSC converter. With a single chip, it can be rendered region-free. It originally listed as a $300 player, then was marked down to $150. The floor model was there in front of me, selling for a lowly $100. I called home and begged for money. I'm now the proud owner of a universal disc player. My only question is do I want to keep it.?
The player has been singing to itself somewhat quietly for two days now and I installed it for evaluation tonight. The trouble is, I only own two SACDs and no DVD-As. I have Norah Jones - Come Away With Me and Ralph Vaughn Williams - Symphony No. 1 (A Sea Symphony) on SACD. Obviously, this isn't a big sample on which to make a rational decision. However, I plunge ahead regardless. My initial impression is that the SACDs are superior to the Red Book CDs but not Earth-shatteringly so. I think I could probably identify the SACD version of both albums in a blind comparison. The muddying factor is the Red Book playback. I don't have enough inputs to have both the Pioneer and my reference Sony (which only plays DVD-V, Red Book, and Orange Book) plugged in all the time. In other words, what ever player I settle on will be primarily a Red Book player regardless of what else it does. I'm not so sure the Pioneer can hold it's own with Red Book. The bass is sloppy and uncontrolled. The upper end is not as extended. There might not be as much clarity. It is, however, slightly more lively than the Sony. At the end of the night, I'm left confused. Tomorrow and over the next several days, I 'm bringing in some hired ears to help me confirm or deny the things that I heard. If you fancy a listen, stop by, but be warned that you'll have to give an opinion!
I caught my first episode of Tripping the Rift tonight. The word Michelle and I came up with for a summation was "Wow". It's... special. On the surface, it is crass and sexual, slightly deeper, it is crass and sexual in twisted ways, even lower than that, it is witty, scathing, and sarcastic. It was funny over all, carried along by moments of disbelief at delivered lines. I don't know, she's probably off doing something religious, like bombing an abortion clinic.
The major premise of the episode was the nature of the creation of the universe and the necessity of god. I'm not sure if the writers wanted god to be necessary or not. Throughout the majority of the show, they seemed to be adamant that god was the universal source of strife. In the end, they decided they needed to go back in time and not kill god because he was the source of morality. However, they were so sarcastic about the whole thing, that I'm not sure what they actually believe. It definitely earned itself another watching. The android's breasts scare me. Think NASA footage of water blobs in zero-g. /me shudders.
Go on, watch it.
In other news, the Michell?es, Mary, and I went to see Mona Lisa Smile. It was an interesting movie. Sort of a Dead Poet's Society or The Emperor's Club for girls. It was moderately good, not stunning, but worth the price of admission. I was, however, disappointed by Julia Robert's performance. Normally, I quite lover her acting. Tonight I was left a bit cold. Eh.
The change in the blog colors is for Gray Tuesday. Fuck EMI, fuck the Beatles, and fuck Eminem.
Alana saw the Night frame of this series in my galleries and wanted one as a desktop picture. While I was at it, I figured I might as well make deskotops of all three. Don't download these unless you mean it, they're not small. They're 1024x768 righ t now, if you really want a different resolution, let me know and we can talk.
I'm sure you all are going to be telling me that you've known about them for ages, but I just discovered a band called Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. As with a lot of the good music, I came across them on The West Wing. The Gimmes have this odd habit of covering old classics such as Uptown Girl, Country Roads, Science Fiction/Double Feature, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The mind-bending is that they're a punk band. You haven't lived until you've heard a John Denver song at 200 bpm. Added to that, the drive their music from an aggressive and complex bass line. Though often almost buried by the lead guitar, the bassist is extremely talented. Listen to the riffs on Science Fiction/Double Feature or Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This stuff is great.
Oh, and if you have any appreciation for musical theatre at all, check out their version of Music of the Night from Phantom.
