You know, that Kurt Russell guy is a pretty good actor. I liked him in Tombstone. But last night I watched Dark Blue and this was an even better performance. Surprising movie too ... it kind of looks like it will be another one of those Hollywood cop movies ... yawn. But while it is, it's a really great movie. Who'd have thought?

I visited the Jann Arden site today (jannarden.com). Nice site. Very good design though there are a few artsy kind of aspects to it that make it a bit annoying. (Fonts, icons, images - everything is small. Requires some squinting.)

I think the thing that makes the site interesting is Jann herself. In other words, the content which, in this case, is essentially Jann Arden. So if you don't particularly like her you probably won't like the site. C'est la vie.

Okay ... So I'm not a huge fan of her music. This doesn't mean I dislike it. I like it quite a bit, generally, but I'm not wildly enthusiastic about it. I suppose the lyrics of her songs are what most attract me to them. There is a level of thought there, both in terms of what they are about and how they are constructed, that is largely absent in most popular music. In this sense, she's essentially a folk songwriter since this is one genre of music where people tend to think before writing.

I wonder, too, whether her fan base is attracted by the music or the personality of Jann Arden. My guess is the music, particularly the lyrics, are what first attract people. It's the person behind the music, revealed both in the songs and in the media interviews etc., that holds them. And for me, a large part of the attraction is the humour that flavours everything (though it is by no means the only thing).

Well ... just thought I'd ramble about Jann Arden for no brilliant reason. (Saw her on Bravo! last night and that sent me to the Web site and so on.)

One other thing with the site ... She has a new disc out and tour coming up and so the marketing guys to some extent have gotten their hands on the site. So there are various annoying things (not a lot) to send you to loveistheonlysoldier.com (title of the new disc). On this site, well ... you have to buy the disc in order to get access to most of the material. If I were one of the marketing guys, it's probably what I would have recommeded doing. But since I'm just a schmuck visiting Web sites, it burns my ass a bit.

The corporate bastards are waging Internet war on us and the marketing people are their suicide bombers!

Toodle-oo!!!

Made some Piddleville main page changes (added "new reviews"). Must think of how to put this, the Burble on the home page.

Watched Anger Management last night. Jack Nicholson was okay but the rest of the movie was kind of lame.

Earlier in the week, I watched Destry Rides Again for the second time and it was just as much fun as the first. Great old movie.

Good grief ... It's 8AM and 1 degree outside. ONE. This is Edmonton. In Calgary? Oh, just a heavy snowfall warning is all. And -.2 as the temperature.

Geeezzzzz ... It's September for heaven's sake. Aren't we jumping the gun a bit? Who's in charge of the weather anyway?

The RIAA has few friends: ajc.com | News | Artists blast record companies over lawsuits against downloaders

The links I've been posting are not because I've decided to become one of the those sites that links to everything on the planet. It's mainly me diddling around with the tools to see what they can do, how it works etc. And because I found the links interesting, at least modestly.

I suppose I'm trying to see if there is any value in this for me and, if so, how I might use this.

The end of the need to spell check? Or to pay attention to what you write? Hmmm ... Joi Ito's Web: Ordering of letters don't matter

If you're interested in RSS, this is an interesting page: ExtremeTech RSS Primer Page

Though I've come across it before, I've never paid much attention to RSS. But yesterday I got curious and today I've done a lot of online exploring. I've even downloaded FeedDemon and it is very cool ...

You may be wondering why the movie room main page hasn't been updated since August 31. It's more likely that you don't care, but whatever ...

I am lazy and there has been nothing of particular note recently and, frankly, I have to stop the money drain. Toodles!

I woke from the oddest dream yesterday. That is, if it were a dream. I woke with the sense I usually have just before passing out - the feelings I usually have just before having a seizure, to be more clear. The thing is, I wasn't sure if that sense was the actual preliminary to a real seizure or something my mind had dredged while dreaming.

Either way, it produce some rather high anxiety levels. Seizures are something less than pleasant and I had no desire to experience another one.

As a related aside, I'm going to have to talk to my doctor (ha! like I have one anymore ... but that's another topic) about the possibility of apnea. I think it's possible I have it but for the life of me I don't know how you go about finding out.

It's been a rather uneventful long weekend highlighted by moments of work. Whoop-dee-doo. I managed to find time to do a kind of personal financial review. The conclusion?

I'm fucked royally. Autumn will now be characterized by austerity, panic and impotent rage.