Make Shit Up

Okay, so with the exceptions of the Drag Me To Hell and the upcoming District 9, it seems like all of this summer's sci-fi type entertainment have been re imaginings, remakes, sequels, interpretations of a toy based marketing opportunity, or some combination there of.

Don't get me wrong, I like some of this stuff (new Star Trek was awesome, and I'm sure the new Harry Potter is just fine), but how about a little bit of originality? Or, filming a book who's themes haven't been done to death? Let The Right One In & True Blood are great and all, but they are still vampire stories.

Of course a lot of this stuff is drek. The Transformers sequel was stunningly bad, and my expectations were pretty low. Between the racist caricatures in robot form, testicle jokes, rampant sexism, nonsensical & self contradictory metaphysical mumbo-jumbo, and the most obvious McGuffin in the history of McGuffins, I'm surprised it wasn't a George Lucas film (Okay, that's not fair, Lucas doesn't do testicle jokes). You will of course have to drag me kicking and screaming into the GI Joe movie. If I am to be forced to watch it, I must be made pliant with alcohol before, during, and after the film.

I see that Joe Haldeman's Forever War is in the planning stages with Ridley Scott attached, and that's promising. However: he has now signed to do an Alien prequel. I'll probably like it (anything is an improvement over AvP: Requiem), but it's ground that's been covered.

District 9 does look good though. It's plot sounds engaging, it has power armor/mechs, and Peter Jackson's involvement is usually a good sign. Beyond that we have 9, which could be great, or a big build up to nothing. It's premise is interesting and it's voice cast impressive, but it's produced by Tim Burton and I hope he kept his grubby little hands out of the visual design.

Paid Vacation

I'll be taking my first paid time off in about eight years so I can actually enjoy Gamestorm this year. Drinking beer, rolling dice, trashing D&D 4E, all on BLB01's dime. I couldn't be happier.

Turns out that BLB is pretty generous with the paid vacation (Union!), and I've already accrued more than 63 hours of it. Between additional time earned and what I have in the bank, I should easily be able to take the time I need for SN/EN in June and Orycon in the Fall.

The last time I took paid time was when I spent a week in 2000 to basically goof off at home. I drank a little (OK, a lot of) beer, hung out with my neighbors, and did nothing. My only goals were to have fun, and not drive the car for at least a 24 hour period (I managed to go 36 or so before I realized that I would need to make a beer run).

I don't think I'll have a vacation quite like that again. While it was fun and all, I find myself craving events with a few beers rather than sloth with an astounding amount of beer.

I'm not saying that I won't be the floor show again (any one who saw me Friday night at last years Orycon knows what I'm talking about), but I prefer a coherent memory of the good times over a dull sense of having had fun the night before coupled with a hangover