RonVitale

A Scanner Darkly

Ah, Winona, it's good to see you back in a film again.  I saw "A Scanner Darkly" over the weekend and although it's not a great film, I did enjoy it more than I had expected.  I think what I liked the most about the film was the blurry of reality and insanity.  The main character is caught between two lives and he meanders through both, never truly living in either.  He's nearly undead--a burned out husk of the person he used to be.  He lost his faith to live and what's left is nearly a shadow of who he used to be.  I enjoyed the film and the themes are rather relevant for today's crazy world.  Definitely, worth renting and picking up.  Just be prepared for some wild, drug-induced scenes.  But Robert Downey Jr., in my mind, steals the show.  His dialogue and how he handles it is well thought out.  Rather funny he is, yes.  See the film. 

If you're a fan of Magic: The Gathering, be sure to check out my latest mini-episode (47B) of my podcast The Magic Sock. I have been experimenting with new equipment, raising the quality of the podcast to the next level.  And, as a hobby, I really enjoy making the time to just experiment with a field that I don't know much about.  I also like the ability to express my opinion and on working on devising, creating, supporting, and uploading all the pieces necessary for the podcast to become a reality.  A while ago (almost two years ago?) someone talked about me on his podcast, critiquing that my "how to podcast" article that had been published in the SFWA's Bulletin wasn't that good because I wasn't a podcaster.  Now I look back and realize that I've been podcasting since November 2005.  I'm up to 47 episodes.  That's a good chunk of content under my belt.  I'm starting to think about episode 50 that's quickly coming up and I might do something special--nothing major, but something fun.  We'll see how that all works out.  It all depends on how much time I can put together to do all of this.

Anything else going on?  I've received two rejections for two of my stories and I'm going to focus on my freelance writing projects that I have going.  I haven't written any fiction lately as I've not been inspired to do so and, to be frank, I enjoy making money on my work.  It's nice to be paid to work instead of writing a story and having it rejected everywhere--that pays.  Does this mean I won't writing any more fiction?  No, I know that's not the case, but I am going to concentrate on paying writing work right now.

Well, it's getting later and I'm off.  Take care. Peace.

Episode 47B: Serendib Sorcerer

Download the show:

Download the show (audio only) (8.08 MB)

New! Play Show Online:

Total running time: 8 minutes and 49 seconds.

Show Notes:

--Introduction to episode 47B: Serendib Sorcerer
--Discussion of the Serendib Sorcerer and Sorceress Queen
--Short podcast to test new equipment, compression, and normalizing of the mp3.
--Music by Munk "Pod People." Music available on the Podshow Music Network at music.podshow.com.

Creative Commons License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Contribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Subscribe using iTunes: To subscribe to The Magic Sock using iTunes, simply click  here. (You'll need to have iTunes installed on your computer.)

For more information on how to subscribe to a podcast (video or audio), be sure to check out episode 5 of The Magic Sock: How to Subscribe to a Podcast.

Closing: Magic: The Gathering is trademarked and owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. The Magic Sock is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro in any way. To send feedback, send an e-mail to themagicsock@gmail.com.  Audio feedback is welcome but please keep the mp3 file to under 45 seconds and be sure to mention your name and city/state/country.

Episode 47: Planar Chaos Prelease

Download the show:

Download the show (audio only) (34.1 MB)

New! Play Show Online:

Total running time: 36 minutes and 23 seconds.

Show Notes:

--Introduction to episode 47: Planar Chaos Prerelease --Discussion of my experience at the prerelease. --Lots of great feedback about Planar Chaos. --Crazy music by Former Fat Boys "Make Out Party." Music available on the Podshow Music Network at music.podshow.com.

Planar Chaos Sealed Deck

Black

Assassinate
Cradle to Grave
Dauthi Slayer
Deadly Grub
Mana Skimmer
Mirri the Cursed
Nether Traitor
Sudden Death
Treacherous Urge
Trespasser il-Vec
Viscid Lemures

Red

Blazing Blade Askari
Dead/Gone
Fury Charm
Goblin Skycutter
Stingscourger
Subterranean Shambler
Sudden Shock
Sulfur Elemental

Artifact

Thunder Totem

White

Oros, the Avenger
Revered Dead
Sunlance

Land

Molten Slagheap
6 Mountain
3 Plains
7 Swamp

Creative Commons License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Contribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Subscribe using iTunes: To subscribe to The Magic Sock using iTunes, simply click  here. (You'll need to have iTunes installed on your computer.)

For more information on how to subscribe to a podcast (video or audio), be sure to check out episode 5 of The Magic Sock: How to Subscribe to a Podcast.

Closing: Magic: The Gathering is trademarked and owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. The Magic Sock is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro in any way. To send feedback, send an e-mail to themagicsock@gmail.com.  Audio feedback is welcome but please keep the mp3 file to under 45 seconds and be sure to mention your name and city/state/country.

Pan's Labyrinth

Blending the gritty real-life world of 1943 Spain with the imagined fantasy of a young girl named Ofelia, Pan's Labyrinth is a masterpiece of a film by Guillermo del Toro. I am still unsure as to whether I am more disturbed by images of the fantasy monsters or of the monstrous actions of the Captain and his crew.  Last night my wife and I went out on a date and we rushed to get to dinner.  What we've complained about for years now is that, as a married couple who a child, getting out of work, having dinner, and seeing a film--all in one night isn't as easy as it was when we were in our early '20s.  For one, we were both up at 5:15 a.m. yesterday and went through a full day of work.  By the time my wife and I met up, it was 6:30 p.m.  After a quick but delicious meal, I looked at the time and saw that we had 7 minutes to get to the movie or we'd have to wait another hour.  When babysitting is costing you $7 an hour and you've been up since 5:15 a.m., making it to the theater in 7 minutes is the way to go.  Thankfully, we were only several blocks away so we walked in the cold, purchased the tickets and found two seats crammed in the far right corner.  Packed nearly to capacity, we settled down to watch an amazing film.

What frustrates me the most about our lovely world of technology is that I do hope that, one day soon, I can order the movie through an online service or "On Demand" one and watch it in the comfort of our home.  Granted, I love seeing films on a large screen in surround sound but our home theater setup is enjoyable enough that I don't think we would have missed much by watching the movie at home.  When you factor in dinner, the movie, parking, and the lateness of the hour--oh and that babysitting fee, it's not cheap to go to a film.  But I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth immensely--I wouldn't say that this is a film that I would watch over and over again, but its gritty depiction of life and a young girl's belief in magic is a strong message that is essential to view in today's dark times.  War, terror, and fear have affected so much of all of our lives that it's refreshing to see Ofelia imagine a world beyond ours that is pure and true.  When I talk about movies, I don't like much to "give them away" so I'll neglect to tell much more than that, but the imagery and CGI are well blended in the movie.  There are times in which you feel as though you're immersed in the Faun's world of magic and eternity.

Guillermo del Toro directed Hellboy and Blade 2.  I've seen both those films and, to be honest, wouldn't see them again.  He tends to have an extremely violent and visceral take on life in his films and Pan's Labyrinth continues that trend.  There are several scenes that certain members of the audience squirmed or groaned at as they were so disturbed by what they were viewing.  Pan's Labyrinth is definitely not for children although its central character is a young girl.  Go see this film to remember what good film making is about.  My wife made the comment that American films (to generalize) tend to tie movies up in a nice little bow at the end.  Pan's Labyrinth grabs you, full force, into its dark world, and when you escape, you'll be thankful that you've escaped.