I’ve never been a break up/make up person, but I guess I just needed some time off from ORG, to get my head together, to figure out what I really wanted from that online relationship. Ultimately, I enjoy the custom interface that Pete and I built for Sidedown, it is my blog backend of choice, plain and simple.

So, no more WordPress, no more Outsidedown… just back to regular ol’ Sidedown.

To the few people who checked in on me while I was here, thanks! I hope you head over to Sidedown.org and reconnect with me there. It won’t be a collaborative blog anymore… just me. That’s a whole extra story, though.

See you at ORG!~Jw

After wandering around a few neighborhoods looking for possible live-work buildings to buy (which is actually only half pipe-dream right now), I’m starting to think about the week ahead. What do I have to do? What do I want to do? How can I get as much out of each day as possible.

Frankly, the weather is a HUGE help for me. This week is looking to be cool, which automatically means I will get more done and feel better about working. If I start every day without the dread of humidity and high heat, it will be a good day.

Despite these potentially good things, I’m entering the week with a fair bit of scowling. I’m really really sick of Facebook and these ridiculously ineffective “social networks”. I’m tired of people saying they are my “friend” but not being the least bit interested in anything I’m doing. It’s an easy way to start getting pessimistic by voluntarily spending time working for people that don’t care about you.

So, I’m trying to get all of that negativity out of my system now… breathe deep, try to focus on the people that DO care, and let all the snark that I might want to inject into each day slide away. Don’t get me wrong… I love getting snarky. It’s probably the only thing the Internet is good for any more. But I don’t need it right now.

So, we’ll see how it goes!

All good things.

Today a few things arrived at Sidedown HQ that really brightened up the day. Some new Ruritania Prints finally showed up, and they look great. Later, a box from Amazon was delivered. It contained Season Three of The Venture Bros. as well as the soundtrack to that same show, on vinyl.

I’m listening to it now, it’s absolutely excellent.

I got to catch up briefly with Jeremy, see Pete and his family, and am now sitting in Awakenings cafe in Hyde Park. Partially because I’m not ready to be in, partially because I think Jeremy may have made me a bum key. I’m fine with it… I actually planned on spending some alone time in a cafe/bar each night, working on various projects.

I’m listening to two guys play folk standards on guitar and mandolin. I’m drinking a latte. It’s muggy out.

Tomorrow morning I’l likely take a quick jaunt over to the UC campus, just because. Then it’s official Sidedown Hiatus business.

I have a bunch of projects that I’d like to start promoting more, but I probably won’t get into that until the end of August. I will post more on the various Sidedown blogs, starting next week. Hopefully we’ll get everything running again soon… if not full speed, then at least at half-speed.

I hope everyone’s having a good summer!

I may be one of the only people who likes Sci-Fi Channel’s name change to Syfy. Yes, I know that in some European language it is slang for syphilis or something to that effect— I don’t care. I get what they’re doing.

I also think it looks good.

The outcry about the change is both surprising and not surprising. Nerds hate it when something they like (even mildly) changes. At the same time, they seem to have no problem getting engrossed in fiction and fantasy where authors make up names and planets and laws of physics. Syfy actually feels more sci-fi.

But whatever, all publicity is good publicity, and people will get used to it, I’m sure. For the record, I like it.

There is very little that Luc Besson touches that I don’t enjoy. Whether he’s a writer, producer, or director, I simply like the same things he likes. So of course I like the Transporter series.

The third installment, though, is my least favorite of the three. That isn’t to say it’s a bad movie, it just doesn’t have the same punch as the others. The plot is a bit simpler than the second installment.

One thing that bothered me was part of the female lead’s character. I enjoyed it very much when she came off as standoffish and sort of dark. There was some mystery to her. But then around the second act she takes drugs and gets drunk and is quite annoying. Jason Statham’s character is annoyed at first, rightfully so, but somehow falls for her drunken, drugged out “charms”. I did not find it at all endearing.

The action was good, with plenty of over the top elements characteristic of the series. Statham is awesome as always, the secondary characters are just as interesting as they need to be, and the villain is a weasel that you can’t wait to see get his comeuppance. All in all, it goes down easy and leaves you satisfied.

Worth A Rent? If you like the others, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s not a necessary watch.

Good Morning Sidedown is my new weekday news/nonsense podcast. I’ll be telling people about various Sidedown news, playing a track or two, and talking about anything else I find noteworthy. It’s a short, daily dose of… well, something… so if you’re into random information or want to be involved in Sidedown projects, this ‘cast is for you. Check it out right here.

I was hesitant to see Bolt for one reason: the involvement of Miley Cyrus. She’s annoying in general and has a terrible speaking voice without a shred of diction… the idea that she would be a voice actor for an animation was just off-putting. It was clear this was gimmick casting at its worst; a cheap attempt to grab Hannah Montana fans. Plus I’m sure ol’ Miley is under a rather stiff contract with Disney to do this sort of stuff.

All of that aside, I like animation, and decided to give it a watch.

Bolt as a movie was great. A very enjoyable film. Luckily, Cyrus is in very little of it. Unluckily, the titular hound is voiced by John Travolta, a poor choice in my opinion. Bolt is a cute, young pup. Travolta is an aged second-winder. Sure his voice is soft, but too distinctly his to avoid distraction.

The rest of the cast, however, was fantastic. The pigeons, in both voice and animation, were dead on perfect. The difference between east and west coast birds was pretty amusing. Mittens, voiced by experienced voice actor Susie Essman, was nuanced and enjoyable.

By far the standout actor was Mark Walton, who voiced the hamster Rhino, a die-hard Bolt fan. Walton steals the show with his believable, down to earth performance.

The story is the usual “protagonist undertakes journey to find the thing and learns about him/herself in the process” tale. Think Finding Nemo, Toy Story, and, well, almost every other children’s animation of the last ten years. Nothing special, but certainly not a bad choice. The sets are good, the animation looks top notch, and there are no complaints here.

Taking everythng into account, I felt that Bolt was a better movie than WALL-E. Sure, it’s a more conventional and doesn’t contain any eco-messages, but at least it doesn’t have live action and a sluggish third act. If it hadn’t been for the casting of Miley Cyrus I would have seen and enjoyed this film much sooner. Frankly, this movie proves that the stunt casting of celebrities is most often the wrong move. I know that execs are always nervous about not having “stars” attached to certain films, but it’s about time they realize that voice actors—people trained to play animated roles— are, in fact, stars, and should be treated as such.

If you ever want to hear what a teen girl is NOT supposed to sound like, listen to Miley Cyrus talk. Then imagine a cute cartoon girl with that voice. Even worse! Perhaps she’s not completely to blame, however… it’s the director’s job to get a good performance out of their cast. Byron Howard and Chris Williams certainly didn’t do this with Cyrus… then again, she strikes me as the type that can’t be told what to do, so…

A conundrum.

Worth A Rent? Yes. Even a person like me who has feels nothing but anger at the work and popularity of Miley Cyrus, can enjoy this movie.

Higher Resolution images are available on my Flickr page. Also, here’s one in color: