Falling Behind, Night Watch

Where have the posts gone? Well first off, I can't remember the last time I was this busy at work, so that certainly doesn't help. When I'm staring at a screen for 9+ hours every day (trying to get a simulation calibrated), I just don't feel like coming home and writing even the shortest entry. The other factor is, there hasn't been that much going on, that I've felt suitably inspired to write about. Let's see, I had back to back commutes this past week where I sat on the train next to two foul-smelling men - first, it was a guy who had every communication device known to man, but seemed to forget that communication can be olfactory as well, and thus deodorant should have been part of his arsenal of devices. Then the next day, it was the two packs a day smoker, who also snored! Talk about a winner.

Speaking of winners, that excludes the Terps, who are out of the NCAAs for a second year in a row after providing their own special brand of stench in a loss to Boston College a few nights ago. Maybe next year, who knows?

Jenny and I went to the cinema last night and saw Night Watch, a Russian sci-fi film and part one of a trilogy, that was more popular than Lord of the Rings in Russia. According to the Wikipedia entry, it diverges a great deal from the book that it's based on, but I could have told you that just by watching the movie - it was very...uneven. The sub-plot that the main plot has to work around is ridiculous and full of holes, the characters have some fantastic powers that you barely get a glimpse of, and one of the neat concepts that the film introduces, the Gloom, barely gets explored - a book with that many problems never would have been made into a movie. Even with that list of complaints though, I would still recommend it, especially if you're a fan of innovative filmmaking, or of that whole 'cosmic struggle between good and evil' schtick. Even the subtitles are cool (you'll have to see them for yourself, it's hard to describe). Wikipedia also says that the third movie - the second has already been released in Russia - will be made in the U.S., with an English-speaking cast. That would be a shame, because these actors were very good, and the 'look' of the all-Russian cast really meshed with the look of the film. Besides, the special effects were awesome, and with a film budget of only $4.2 million. What do you wanna bet that Hollywood will surely screw it up by over-doing the FX and casting Keanu Reeves in the lead?