Arizona Steve

First Camp of the Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 04:02:00 +0000

I was invited to go camping with a few folks from work last weekend. We went up to the Mogollon Rim (pronounced Mug-E-On) this time. We drove a little off the beaten path and set up a primitive campsite right on the rim itself. I love camping there, since the views are unbelievable. Did a little hiking, took some photos and just relaxed. Hopefully we can get back at least one more time before the summer ends. It gets pretty cold up there early.

Here's Camp! (HDR)

Look! There are Trees in Arizona! (HDR)

Rusty and Heather

Jason and Rusty

Cassie Loves Camp Food!

Self Portrait

I Found This Cool Bumpy Tree (HDR)

Did I Mention the View was Awesome? (HDR)

I Sat on the Edge of That Ledge to Take Panorama Photos. Talk About a Real Pucker Inducer! =:0 (HDR)

Panorama of the Whole View in HDR! (Click Image for Large Panorama)

Did I Mention the Wind Gusts On This Ledge? =:0 (HDR)

1hr & 40min Exposure of the Stars Traveling

NRA Annual Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:31:00 +0000

The NRA Annual Meeting was in Phoenix this year! The best part about the NRA Meeting is the show they put on. It's kinda like E3, but for guns. Awesome! In the past, I've traveled to attend the meeting, but this year it was right here at home.

I tried riding the new Phoenix light rail to the show so that I could give a bit of a review to the new system, which I have to say fails in a pretty epic fashion. First, in an entire day of riding around town on the train, I was the only person I actually saw buy a ticket. In fact, the ticket vending terminal actually had to boot up once I touched the screen since nobody had used it in so long. There are no turnstiles, access control, or as far as I can tell, persons enforcing ticket purchases. I'm pretty certain I was the only person that actually bought a ticket to ride that day. Next, the average wait between trains is about 10 minutes, and the stations are in the middle of the road with almost no shade. When its 120 degrees out, little canvas stretch shade thingies do not do the job. Finally, riding the light rail was inconvenient. Park n' Ride spots are few and far, and it's slow. I would rank it as slightly faster than riding the bus, but much, much slower than taking your car. Overall, I probably won't be using the light rail again for a long while. The only reason I could see trying it again might be to avoid the traffic problems when going to a ball game. I'll post another review when I try that one...

That being said, the NRA Show itself was sooooooo much fun! :D

Welcome to the NRA Annual Meeting

I Parked and Took the Light Rail

The Stations Offer Little Shade... :(

Our Brand New Convention Center!

Heh, It's Illegal to Take Your Gun Into an Establishment With a Liquor License in AZ

There were LOTS of People There

Good Thing There Were Lots of Guns!

All the Big Manufacturers Had Booths

Win a Truck of Ammo!

Lots of Guest Speakers

Gun Porn

Bang!

I Never Had Cool Books Like This as a Kid...

Paul Impersonates His Shirt

And We End With a Gold Tommygun!

Movie Review: Up

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:31:00 +0000

The people at Pixar are freaking geniuses. I recently saw their newest film, Up, and I think it's the best one they've done to date.

In Up, Pixar tells the story of Carl Fredricksen, an old, retired, bitter man who lives alone in his home. Carl has always dreamed of adventure and going to Paradise Falls, Venezuela. One day when life becomes too much to handle, Carl decides to up and go fulfill his dream as well as fulfill a few promises he's made along the way in his life. I won't give away too much story, but of course his journey is set back by several unique antagonists.

Like most Pixar films, Up's primary strength is its very strong story. It's original, it's interesting and it's pretty moving. Be prepared for some very sad parts in Up. However, the humor is extremely well done as well, and the movie had me swinging back and forth from sadness to laughter on several occasions. It has a kind of weird bi-polar feel to it, but it's good. The characters are very unusual, but that works brilliantly as well. From the obese "Wilderness Explorer" kid to talking dogs to gerriatric sword fights, nothing is routine in this movie.

The animation in Up is top-notch, as we've come to expect from Pixar. Up is very colorful and looks good. I was concerned since I saw it in 3D, and I didn't know what to expect since I hadn't seen a 3D movie since Nightmare On Elm Street 2. Let's just say they've mastered the technology since then. I don't think it's necesarry to see Up in 3D to fully enjoy it, but it can't hurt. The 3D worked very well and complimented the film nicely. I would expect to see a lot more 3D in the near future.

Go see Up. Twice. It's got something for everyone and you will not leave disappointed.

SCORING: I give Up 5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Terminator Salvation

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:49:00 +0000

I really like the Terminator franchise. It's full of cool looking evil robots, time travel, car chases, gun play, and sweet, sweet action. That's why it pains me so much to give Terminator Salvation a poor review.

The fourth installment of the Terminator franchise takes a new approach to the classic Terminator storyline, this time taking us into the future to battle the machines post-judgment day. There is a lot of possibility to this approach, and indeed we do get to see all sorts of new cool types of terminators, from killer motorcycles to really pissed-off fish robots. Unfortunately, that and some cool explosions are about all we get from this movie. The plot was really jumbled, pointless and just... well.. bad. Even by the standards of terminator movies, which don't exactly pride themselves on epic plot structure.

There are all sorts of plot devices and mysteries thrown in throughout the movie, from John Connor noticing things are occurring differently from how his mother told him they would, to the romantic relationship between Marcus and Blair, to even the title of the movie itself. What do they all mean? Well, not much really. The movie plays out randomly, and culminates with an ending that really builds on little of what was presented in the two preceding hours. It really feels like one well scripted action scene after another, stitched together by meaningless, drawn-out hokey dialogue.

I was really left scratching my head about this one until I read THIS story about how the original script was very, VERY different. Apparently John Connor is barely seen at all in the original story, remaining a mystery voice of rebellion and support on the radio. The story was really focused on the Marcus character, who only plays a secondary role in the screen version. Unfortunatly, Christian Bale wanted to play John Connor, and they pretty much rewrote the entire film during the filming process to find reasons to have John Connor, a character who wasn't really even supposed to be in the movie, regularly appear and do things throughout the movie. This explains why many of the scenes in the final movie really have no purpose.

The original script also led up to a huge, crazy twist ending. I'm not sure if it would have worked brilliantly, or would have left fans fuming, but it certainly would have made for a more interesting movie, and it would have explained a lot of the useless elements that still remain in the current version.

Terminator Salvation had some good action scenes and cool killer robots. Unfortunately, that was about it. I would rate it as an "okay" movie, but nothing really more.

SCORING: I give Terminator Salvation 2.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Star Trek

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:22:00 +0000

Action! Action! Action! If you love action, you will loooove the new Star Trek! Lucky for me, I love action! And I loved the new Star Trek movie as well.

The new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie is a prequel to all the existing movies, showing the development of several old Trek characters. You get to see where they came from, how they ended up in Starfleet; all that kind of stuff. The characters we're all used to are played very well, and despite having a completely new cast, you can actually see the old characters' personalities in the way the new actors portray them. It really sells the "this is how that character developed" story and keeps it feeling old school.

Getting back to my review of the story, it really holds the viewer's attention. This movie hits you with nonstop exciting action without feeling all jumbled and confused like Quantum of Solace did. There is also a lot of good comedy and humor in the movie, and references to the old campy style of Star Trek, somehow without being cheesy. (Yes, the red-shirts die and Kirk sleeps with green women.) The special effects are awesome, and I believe have vastly improved on how they have been handled in every Star Trek movie and series to date. When ships jump to warp, it's violent and loud, like a lightning strike. Tearing through the fabric of space should feel like that rather than the slow bendy-stretching we've seen in the past. Phasers have a loud, tactile smack and seem to cause real damage when they strike an object, as opposed to the damage-free heating effect we've previously seen. They finally seem like real weapons now, which is good.

I liked this movie from beginning to end. I can only come up with two gripes. First is that product placement sucks no matter what movie it's in. Apparently people in the twenty-third century still use Nokia cell phones, listen to the Beastie Boys and drink Budweiser. Second is that the story suffers from a little too much deus ex machina, but I suppose that is common to all Star Trek movies and shows.

I think this is the best Star Trek movie to date. Yes, even better than the Wrath of Khan. Go see it. You won't be disappointed.

SCORING: I give Star Trek 4 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Phoenix Tea Party

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 04:41:00 +0000

I went to the State Capitol today to take part in our local Tea Party protest against high taxes and out-of-control debt spending. There were substantially more people there than I had expected, and I ended up parking about four blocks east of the Capitol.

I've never been to a protest before, and I'm no expert at counting people, but the crowd went all the way from the park to the Capitol building itself, and almost from end to end. I'd guesstimate that there were upward of 5,000 people there. The crowd was also pretty thick, so I couldn't actually get anywhere near the center stage area to see what was going on. There wasn't much along the lines of an organized amplification system either, so I didn't really hear what the speakers had to say.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty cool gathering. I walked around and saw lots of interesting revolutionary era flags being carried by people. There were also a lot of humorous signs being toted around. I didn't see any fights or particularly angry people, and the police presence was very minimal. I think I personally saw about four police officers in total. I was also expecting some sort of counter-protest to be going on, but I was never able to find any. I suppose freedom from taxes is a bipartisan issue.

The Crowd Went All The Way To That Domed Capitol Building

They Had a Fire Truck Decked Out in Flags

News Crews were On the Ground and In the Air

There Were Lots of Gadsden Flags

But This Was My Favorite :)

Lots of Signs!

Debt Star Sighting!

Longest Line? For the Bathroom

Someone Tell Joe Biden the Unpatriotic People Are Here

Here's a Panorama of the Whole Crowd!
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

McDowell Mountains

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:06:00 +0000

I took advantage of a free afternoon to take a little landscape photography. I live just a few minutes from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation, which offers wide open spaces and decent views of the McDowell Mountains.

I took a few HDR photos which came out pretty decent, then had a brief run-in with the Indian police, who informed me "they" don't want people "out here." I asked for clarification, and the police officer informed me that "they" were "the Indians" and "out here" was "on the Rez." Strange position for a tribe to take that is currently spending millions of dollars on a new Casino and Hotel to attract more people "out here."

State Route 101 Runs Through the Reservation (HDR)

This SRPMIC Marker is all Along The Edges of the Reservation (HDR)

The McDowell Mountains Border Scottsdale and the Rez (HDR)

Señor Saguaro (HDR)

Closeup of the Mountains (HDR)

Time to Leave The Rez! (HDR)

Ignite 3

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:28:00 +0000

I attended Ignite 3 last week. Paul invited me, and it seems to be mostly a networking event for Phoenix's creative and technology communities. Basically, people take turns giving 5 minute presentations on whatever interests them, then answer questions afterward. It was interesting, but would probably need a few changes to attract more working professionals in other industries. The primary issue I had was the venue and timing. It was in Tempe on a Wednesday night, which is tough when you have to get up early for work downtown the next morning. I'd be much more inclined to attend if it were on a weekend. Nonetheless, there were a few pretty interesting presentations, and Paul's speech was well done and well received by the audience.

Ignite 3 Was at the Tempe Center for the Arts

Paul Gave a Presentation on Solar Power

Flashbulbs = Evil Lord Solar

Arthur and His Girlfriend Came

The TCA is Really Nice

There are Lots of Water Features (HDR)

And It's Right on Tempe Town Lake (HDR)

An Inflatable Dam Ends the Artificial Lake

And Separates it From the Desert

I Love Living In Arizona

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 04:24:00 +0000

Where else can you spend your winters comfortably outdoors shooting your M4?

Enjoying the Great Outdoors!

Movie Review: Taken

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Taken is the story of an ex-CIA agent who has left his career as super-spy to move closer to his ex-wife and try to reconnect with his teenage daughter. She gets kidnapped and he roams Europe torturing and killing bad guys to rescue her. No sub-plots, no hidden messages... that's it. Search and destroy in its purest sense.

Needless to say, I liked it. I'm always up for some good old fashioned violence. I was somewhat surprised however that the film is rated PG-13, seeing as the plot revolves around sex slavery/trafficking, and almost every scene involves graphic torture or killing. Not that I'm complaining, but it surprised me. Yay!

There's not really a whole lot for me to say about this movie, since it was so straightforward. If you're an action buff, you'll enjoy it thoroughly. There's no shortage of car chases, kung-fu fighting and bad guys getting shot by the dozens. Liam Neeson does a really good job at playing the role of cold-blooded protagonist, and the movie held my attention throughout its entire run.

I suppose the only complaint I have about the movie is that there is no really memorable villain. There are plenty of villains, and even a sort of "head" villain, but he's not very memorable or super-evil, and you only see him a very short time. No epic boss battle here. Mary also thought it was a little too predictable, as she was expecting some more mystery/thriller vibe out of it. Otherwise though, it was a great film and I would recommend it.

SCORING: I give Taken 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Gran Torino

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 04:36:00 +0000

How sad is it that the toughest guy in Hollywood is a 78 year old man? If you had any doubt that Clint Eastwood is The Man, then Gran Torino will immediately erase any such foolish doubts from your mind.

Gran Torino tells the story of an aging man who has passed his time and is forced to cope with a rapidly changing world. He can't relate to his greedy, uncaring family, an overzealous pastor, and a neighborhood that has transformed from old Americana and into a crime-ridden ghetto.

While he attempts to isolate himself and live out his final days in peace, he finds he is unable to as the world repeatedly intrudes on his life. Eventually, he is forced to confront his own racist and old-fashioned beliefs as he becomes more and more involved in the well-being of an immigrant family living next door.

Normally I'm not into these "self-discovery" types of films, but Gran Torino really sucked me into the characters and storyline. By the end of the story, you really feel connected with all of the main characters. It's very moving, and very relevant to the modern and changing face of America, where we have millions of baby boomers moving into retirement as a new and different generation of immigrant Americans is rising to power. The scenario is quite believable, and I imagine similar situations could actually be occuring across the country.

Go see this movie. It's very, very good, and you will not be dissapointed. Not to mention, this may very well be the last time you get to see Clint Eastwood action on the big screen.

SCORING: I give Gran Torino 4.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Five Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 02:23:00 +0000

Hooray! It's been five years since Mary and I got married at Walt Disney World! To celebrate, we decided to go back with our friends and family to where it all started, in sunny Florida!

Anniversary Time!

WDW Was All Decked Out For Christmas

And So Were Paul and Sheenae

We stayed at the Contemporary, on the Atrium Club level. It was pretty cool since they had free food and drinks all day and night for us. We also had our own private lounge where we could relax, watch fireworks, or play cards and watch TV.

You Can See MK From the Concierge Lounge

As Well as the Polynesian

And the Grand Floridian

Our Room Overlooked Bay Lake (HDR)

As Well as the New DVC Construction
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

All Aboard The Monorail to Fun!

I Was The Only One That Got Wet... :/

Too Many Rules!

Brer Rabbit

Brer Bear and Fox

Brer... Skunk?

Uh... Brer... Vultures?

This Is The Largest Audio-Animatronic Prop Ever Created

YEOW!

Haunted Mansion!

Leota Floating

Anniversary you Say?

I Forgot How Bad This Show Is

Yeah...

Now This Is Better!

Those Sure are Big Boots

Nick Approves

Sci-Fi was Neat, but Had Mediocre Food

OM NOM NOM

Hey! It's The Vucics!

The Food in Mexico was BAD

Good Thing It Doesn't Have To Stay Down For Long!

Ready To Upchuck Where No Man Has Upchucked Before?

Still an Awesome Ride

I Love Photographing the Tower (HDR)

Except When Jerks Get In My Shot! (HDR)

They're Heeeeere...

Back Row Rules You!

Do Drop In Again Soon (HDR)

The Safari at Animal Kingdom Was Good

And Expedition Everest Was Awesome!

Possibly the Best Ride at WDW

Beware The Yeti...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!

The Pauls Seem To Be Scared of Dinosaurs

We Ate at T-Rex. It Was Cool! (Har Har)

Meteor Storm!

The Lighting Drove Some To Madness...

Ohana Has The Greatest. Food. EVAR.

Too Much Drinking From Pineapples!

The Disney Studios Hat Looks Cool At Night (HDR)

But It Still Needs To Go To Unblock The Theater (HDR)

It's Japan! It's EPCOT! It's (HDR)!

I Found a Hidden Mickey In the Nemo Tank!

Thank God The Giant Wand is Gone! (HDR)

Cinderella's Castle

Reflecting in the Moat (HDR)

And We Finish With Fireworks...

...As Seen From the Contemporary.

Well, that's all for this time. We all had a great trip, and can't wait to go back again for our Tenth Anniversary! If you'd like to see all my WDW photos, you can CLICK HERE. Or, if you'd like to see all my Disneyland Photos, you can CLICK HERE. Enjoy!

Movie Review: The Day The Earth Stood Still

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 16:52:00 +0000

Keanu Reeves must be stopped. No, not Keanu Reeves' character in The Day The Earth Stood Still. Keanu Reeves. The Actor. Someone must stop him from trying to act. Immediately.

What can I say about The Day The Earth Stood Still? It's not very good. And when one inevitably compares it to its 1951 predecessor, it becomes even more clear that the 2008 version is really a steaming pile of a movie.

The problems with The Day The Earth Stood Still run beyond Neo's inability to act out emotions beyond the emotional range of a toaster. They involve a weakly written storyline that waters down and distracts from the the original 1951 story, the addition of a really annoying tag-along kid (don't annoying kids make all movies better?), and the inclusion of heavy handed environmentalist and anti-government messages. I get that the original 1951 version was an anti-war movie, and that's fine. It was done well and prompted people to think about important issues that were taboo at the time. That's avant garde. Global warming is not avant garde. Nothing in this movie is avant garde. It's gauche.

The 2008 version of this film tells the story of a young Al Gore, who comes to this planet from a distant galaxy to fight the evils of global warming before beginning his search for Manbearpig. Apparently the only way to end said global warming is to kill everyone on Earth. He's essentially an evil Captain Planet.

Because the total destruction of all humanity is being done "for the environment," it is a noble pursuit that is only being thwarted by the evil and incompetent US Government. (Before getting offended, please note that the movie takes extra precautions to ensure that it's only the US Government that is evil and incompetent. We are assured all other foreign governments are kind and compassionate.) Enter the single mom with bratty kid, let Keanu and John Cleese do some complex theoretical physics calculations together on a chalkboard (someone kill me!), and bada-bing, bada-boom, you have yourself a movie.

Overall, the first 1/4 of this movie was bearable, building up tension and making itself a decent, if not slow, thriller. Then we meet all of the actors, get into the story, and the movie fails. For having a little early tension and a couple of decent special effects, it's earned itself a couple of Smiths, but that doesn't mean I would recommend anyone actually subject themselves to it.

SCORING: I give The Day The Earth Stood Still 2 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Quantum of Solace

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:01:00 +0000

Daniel Craig is back as the British super-spy, James Bond. And just like in Casino Royale, he does a great job of playing the part in Quantum of Solace. I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie, since most reviews were all over the place on whether it was good or not. After watching it and thinking for a bit, I've come to the conclusion it was pretty good. Is it excellent? No. Could it be better? Yes. Could it have been a lot worse? Definitely.

Comparing Quantum of Solace to its predecessor is inevitable. James Bond movies had become a parody of themselves, and were on the verge of franchise death when they were completely re-imagined and presented in a new light by Casino Royale. How does Quantum shape up? Well, it's not as good as Casino Royale. It suffers from some plot and cinematography issues that Casino Royale didn't, but it's still far and away better than the James Bond crap that Hollywood has been shoveling at us for well over a decade.

Let's start with the good stuff. Quantum of Solace is chock full of wholesome violence. From the opening seconds of the movie to the final roll of the credits, people, cars and buildings are being shot, smashed and burned beyond recognition. There's some awesome gun play as well as a good car chase to keep your attention. While it's a short movie, it doesn't waste any time. There is something exciting going on for every second of this movie.

However, therein lies one of the movie's greatest flaws. It's hectic. Really, really hectic. 8 year old child with ADD snorting 30 pixie-sticks kind of hectic. This movie doesn't stop to take a breath or check out the views for even a moment. And why would it? It's too damn busy leaping from machine gun battles to airplane crashes to jet boat jumps to knife tortures to sporadic ninja attacks. Okay, maybe no ninjas, but that would kick ass. Get ready to be confused. There really is no time to think during this movie, and I found myself on several occasions wondering, "Wait, why the hell is he flying there? What does this have to do with the last scene?" The plot isn't necesarrily bad, it's just that you will have absolutely no time to absorb it.

The action scenes (which are really all of the scenes in the movie) left me a little dissapointed as well. Don't get me wrong, they're good. However, they decided to go with the Bourne Identity "lets strap a camcorder in some guy's armpit" cinematography. You can't really tell who's hitting who or what the hell's going on. I get it. It's supposed to simulate the violence and confusion of an actual fight. But I don't care. I paid $12 to see a damn movie, I want to be able to, you know, actually see what's happening.

Other than the complex and frenzied nature of the plot and cinematography, I really have nothing to complain about with Quantum of Solace. It was a good spy movie with lots of action and violence. I appove whole-heartedly.

SCORING: I give Quantum of Solace 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

State Fair Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:35:00 +0000

I went to the State Fair last week with some of my family. The fair is an interesting beast. I always want to go to the fair, but once I get there and stay a little while, I realize it kind of sucks and I'm ready to leave. The fair has good food. Really good food, but that's about it. It's expensive and the crowd is a little... rough around the edges.

Oh well, regardless of the downsides of the fair, I had a good time and I'm sure by the time it rolls around next year, I'll be wanting to go again.

It was Really Busy at the Fair

Mary and Mom Went with Me

And so Did Dad

Did I Mention the Crowd is Rough?

But This is Why We're Here. FOOD!!!

Fried Hot Dogs!

Fried Bread!

Fried Sandwiches!

Fried Oreos!

Fired Moon Pies!

Fried Twinkies!

With a Sno-Cone Chaser

Why? Will He Clean the Table?

Judging from My Previous Caption... No.

Parent Of The Year Award

Now That I'm Full... Rides!!!

And More Rides

Play Some Games?

Pop a Balloon...

...and Win A Prize

Hasta Lluego State Fair

Colorado

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 04:53:00 +0000

I just returned from Louisville Colorado, and boy is it good to be home! Colorado is home to the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), and that's where I've been working my butt off for the past week. NITA has a pretty intensive litigation program, and I picked up a lot of good trial tips. However, they had me working from about 6am to 10pm every day of the trip. Sadly, that meant I didn't get out much to take photos. :(

Another thing that caught me off guard was how different Colorado is from what I envisioned it as being. I kind of assumed there would be... you know... mountains and trees there. In reality, it's flat as far as you can see and consists mostly of dead grassy plains. Caught me totally off guard. It's how I envisioned Montana would look. Maybe I should go to Montana now, and see if it looks like how I envisioned Colorado.

This is Colorado!

Denver International Airport

Long SuperShuttle Ride from DIA to Louisville

I Stayed at the Omni Interlocken

Flags in the Battleground State

Front of the Hotel

Nice Lobby Sitting Room

Hotel Pool & Golf Course

My Room!

One Last Look at CO Before Leaving...

Electric Palms

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:52:00 +0000

Every now and again, I like to just take photos of things around my house. It's a good exercise in subject spotting.

These Uplit Trees are in a Strip-Mall Near My Home

Last Camp of the Season

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:18:00 +0000

Just returned from taking advantage of the last good camping weather of the season. Paul, Sheenae, Jason and myself spent the night out in the backwoods right on the edge of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced 'mug-E-on'). Despite a foreboding weather report, the weather on the rim was actually pretty nice!

We Found a Nice Secluded Spot with Good Tree Cover

Yes, there are Trees in Arizona

Weatherman Lies! No Storms Here

Paul!

And Sheenae!

She Secured our Campsite by Murdering the Previous Campers

Fail Catch

I tried my hand at star photography for the first time this trip. It didn't turn out all that great, but I learned a few things. 1. Ambient light will really show up in the exposures. The trees are all red from our small campfire that was about 20 yards behind the camera. 2. The exposures need to be long. This exposure was an hour and fifteen minutes, but wasn't nearly long enough. And 3. Watch the moon. It actually crept in the left side of my picture at the end creating a bright streak. Hopefully I can get some better results on my second attempt.

1hr 15min Sky Exposure

Fire GOOD

Who is Raul and What is He Doing With My Flashlight?

Until Next Time, Keep Your Feet Warm!

I Think My Dog Is Going To Bite Me.

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:17:00 +0000

I can see it in his eyes...

Movie Review: Eagle Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:01:00 +0000

Let's not mince words. Eagle Eye is a crap movie. It's not well written, it's not well edited, and it's not well acted. HOWEVER, all that being said, a whole lot of crap gets smashed and blown up during the movie, so it's not boring.

There's nothing new or groundbreaking about Eagle Eye. It's a conglomeration of plot devices that have been used time and time again in other, better movies, and while they work here, they're not particularly well done. Imagine if you took the part of Die Hard 3 where the terrorist is sending John McLaine around on errand after errand by cell phone, and update it with a little dash of the part from the Matrix where Neo is being told what to do by Morpheus over the cell phone, and stretched it into a full movie. Bam! You have Eagle Eye.

The storyline was a little too much to bear as well. The mystery antagonists don't just control cameras and phones, they control EVERYTHING. To the point where they can turn on the cruise control of your car and steer you around town. Or to the point where they can cause a power line in the fields of Indiana to snap at a specific point and fly over at you, hitting you in the middle of said field, frying you alive. I get the whole suspension of disbelief thing, but really, Narnia was more believable than this crap.

I won't give away the ending, but let's just say that it ends up being one of the traditional movie bogeymen, and I was disappointed in that as well. Finally, the message of the movie (we are all so dependent upon electronic devices and an electronic lifestyle) was really overplayed and heavy handed, showing up in almost every line of dialogue and every scene. When the experienced cop lectured his young lackey on the benefits of how they used to put things on paper instead of PDAs... well... you get the point.

The only redeeming part of Eagle Eye that saved it from total suckage was the action. This movie is almost nonstop action. There are some sweet car chases, and lots of vehicles get smashed up pretty good. For that reason, I have to admit that Eagle Eye kept me entertained throughout its whole duration. You're not going to take away any meaningful messages, you're not going to see a masterpiece of editing and filmaking, but damnit, you're going to see people explode and burn. That was pretty cool, so I had to bump the score accordingly.

SCORING: I give Eagle Eye 2.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Tropic Thunder

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:25:00 +0000

Ah comedy, how I've missed you. It didn't really occur to me until about half way through Tropic Thunder that I was laughing my ass off, and that I hadn't done that in a movie since... what... the 1980's?

This movie is hilarious. Now keep in mind that it's a hilarious movie about war, so you're going to have to be a little screwed up in the head to properly enjoy it. Lucky for me, I'm a lot screwed up in the head! Tropic Thunder pulls off a good mix of comedy and violence, a pair that is long overdue for a good match-up. This comedic violence takes many forms, from exploding directors to knife wielding Vietnamese children being hurled off of exploding bridges. But the target of the mockery and ridicule remains the same throughout the film: Hollywood.

Yes, from beginning to end, Tropic Thunder is one long nasty swipe at the people that have brought us such crap as Lions for Lambs and Redacted. Hey Hollywood, want a marketing tip? I won't pay a dime to see Brian DePalma portray me and my countrymen as inbred corrupt megalomaniacs, but I'll pay damn good money to see a coke-crazed Jack Black tear a Vietnamese soldier in half. The attacks on every aspect of Hollywood culture are unrelenting, and they're side-splitting funny.

Something that really caught me off guard about this movie was the production value and star power it wields. The special effects are really good, looking like a much larger budget movie would. And in addition to the main stars, there were a lot of big name cameos throughout the movie as well. Of course, the central stars ham it up like they do in most of their movies, with Robert Downey Jr. really stealing the show with his shtick as the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude. The only character that didn't work for me was Tom Cruise as the evil producer. He was just... strange, and... creepy. I guess that's ordinary for Tom Cruise though, so nothing new there.

All in all, Tropic Thunder was funny as hell and refreshing to watch. I was also pleasantly surprised that the main actors were so funny and didn't overdo their parts as they have done in so many previous movies (I know I can't be the only one sick of Jack Black and Ben Stiller). I hardly noticed my seething dislike for them all all during this movie. This is a great war movie, a great comedy, is chock full of wholesome violence, and I reccomend you go see it next time you're at the theater.

SCORING: I give Tropic Thunder 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Disneyland In HDR

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:07:00 +0000

My friends and family threw me an incredible surprise birthday party for my 30th birthday this last weekend! It was awesome.

At the end of the party, my gift from Mary was another surprise. A surprise trip to Disneyland! Really, I had to leave the party to get to the airport for my surprise flight. As I said, awesome.

Disneyland was fun. Crowds weren't too bad for a holiday weekend, and the weather was perfect. So perfect that Mary was willing to sit by while I took lots and lots of photographs. I even got to take a bunch of HDR photos, which take more time, but usually turn out pretty cool.

I even got to ride the new Toy Story Mania ride twice! :D

Welcome to Disneyland! (HDR)

The New Mickey Floral Lights Up at Night (In HDR)

Here We Go...

Special Birthday Music

Main Street USA (HDR)

The View Further Down (HDR)

An Uncrowded Hub (HDR)

One Photo, Three Attractions!(HDR)

Is That a Popcorn Cart I Spy? Mmmmm... (HDR)

More Hub (HDR)

Partners (HDR)

Yep. It's a Castle. (HDR)

With a Moat! (HDR)

No Long Lines Here (HDR)

So We Should Ride Repeatedly! (HDR)

Welcome to The Fuuuuutuuuree! (HDR)

And Don't Forget... The Paaaast! (HDR)

Mark Twain! (HDR)

Still the Best! (HDR)

No Lines Here Either!

Haunted Mansion Rules. (HDR)

Formerly Bear Country (HDR)

We Got SOAKED This Time around On Splash (HDR)

Chick-a-Pin Hill (HDR)

Time to Hit DCA (HDR)

Heh. Eight Years and They're Still Defacing It...

GRRrrrrrrr!

Didn't Get Too Wet on This Though (HDR)

The Golden State Area is Pretty (HDR)

Refreshing Mist for You (HDR)

Is it Hollywood? No. No it's Not (HDR)

There's a Kid In Here!!!

I've Had Dates That Ended That Way...

Occupied!

All Hail Tower! (HDR)

Check-in Time (HDR)

My Room is Not Ready Yet. :(

And They Made Me Take The Service Elevator. :(

Mary Wants to Ride Midway Mania!

And So Does Everyone Else! (HDR)

Midway Mania Was Pretty Fun

Yes, It's Running Windows Vista!

Nice Shootin' Tex

But You Didn't Beat My Score!

Sunset Over Paradise Pier

I Shall Spin You to Nausea!

A Panoramic Shot of the Pier at Night
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

Another Panoramic Shot of Sunset at the Pier
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

Tower is Evil at Night

Back to Disneyland! (HDR)

To Take Photos Through the Crowds (HDR)

I'm Amazed this Signage has Survived So Long

And We End With a Whirl on Space Mountain! (HDR)

Well, that just about wraps up this trip. I hope you enjoyed the photos. See you again real soon!

Quck San Diego Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:50:00 +0000

Mary and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of days out in San Diego with Mom and Dad recently while they were on vacation.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is incredibly luxurious and peaceful. The Hotel Del has a lot of history and is in a pretty cool location, surrounded by military installations. What that means is while Mary relaxed on the balcony, I could check out the aircraft carriers moored nearby, the F-18s flying over regularly, or the Navy Seals doing beach assaults right on the hotel beach. It was pretty neat.

I highly recommend the Hotel Del, but be sure to bring a cooler of your own food. $25 for a cheeseburger is a little steep for even my taste.

Welcome to the Hotel Del Coronado!

Front of the Hotel
(In HDR)

The Lobby is Old and Neat.

Lobby Centerpiece

This Hotel IS Old.
I Hear These Devices Are Called "Pay Phones" and Are What People Used to communicate Prior to the invention of Cell Phones

Old Can Sometimes Be Spooky Too...

Our Room
(In HDR)

View From Our Hotel Room
(In HDR)

Dinner Time!

Mary & Mom At The Mexican Restaurant

Brand New Morning
(In HDR)

Mary is Enjoying our Balcony

We Took a Tour of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

F-14 Tomcat

A-4 Skyhawk

Monument In The Life Preserver

The Hangar Bay Is ENORMOUS

Anchors Away in the Forecastle

Living Space Is Cramped

But It's Better Than Living In The Brig!

Up In The Con Tower

The Air Boss and Mini Boss Run Flight Operations

View of the Carrier Deck

Mary and Mom Watch the Bay

A panoramic shot of the Three Other Carriers In For Rehab
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

There Was a Lot of Security In the Bay

Back to the Hotel!

And Time for Portraits...

Mom & Dad

Mary & Myself

Me & Mom

Mary & Mom

Still Time Left for Candy!

And Ice Cream Too!

The Ice Cream Shop was Cool

Moon Over the Dell
(In HDR)

Time to Say Goodbye From the Beach
(In HDR)

Movie Review: Star Wars - The Clone Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:53:00 +0000

I've said it before, I will say it again. CGI is not some magic wand the studio can wave to make their lack of animation talent and their sucktacular writing simply vanish and be replaced with quality film. Doesn't work that way. Can you hear me out there, George Lucas?

I have to admit, I didn't really go into Star Wars: The Clone Wars with a whole lot of high expectations. In fact, my expectations were quite low. And the movie still failed to even meet those pathetically low expectations. Oh well, I should be used to it by now after suffering through the edited re-releases of Episodes IV through VI, and the premieres of Episodes I through III. But I digress. I suppose I should give you an actual review of the movie, even though that just expands the amount of time I've wasted on it.

The Clone Wars follows the story of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and some orange chick as they try to rescue Jabba the Hutt's larvae. Really. Although there were a lot of blaster and lightsaber battles, the story just wasn't there. The characters were annoying too. Anakin complains the whole time, and the orange chick has some kind of teeny-bopper attitude going on. I half expected her to whip out a Nokia and start texting Anakin. OMG UR 2 KoOl with UR LiteSaber!!11! LOL k G2G!

The animation was heavily stylized, but wasn't very pretty or inspiring. It also certainly didn't break any technology barriers or wow me like Pixar movies always do. The characters weren't animated very much at all, and their faces seemed like rubber masks that stretched to make them talk and emote. Even characters with beards just had their beards painted on, and they stretched like skin. It's was kind of creepy. It's almost like this is the CGI equivalent of the old Speed Racer cartoons, where they moved the characters as little as possible to save on animation costs.

If you're a huge Star Wars fan, you'll probably find the movie entertaining enough. For anyone else though, it's a rental at best. I would classify The Clone Wars as a pretty good Saturday Morning Cartoon or a standard direct to DVD release. It's just not movie theater material.

SCORING: I give The Clone Wars 2 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Zombie Hunting

noreply@blogger.com (Arizona Steve) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 21:33:00 +0000

Scott was in town visiting, so we stopped by the gun club and killed a few zombies. Shot a bunch of different firearms, and the MAC-10 even worked pretty well. It didn't explode or kill anyone! Yay!

Scott Shoots a Silenced HK USP Tactical CT

I Think He Likes the M4!