November 30, 2013

Today I was going to play Skyrim because I finally bought it the other day at a severe discount. It only took me however long it has been since it was released. Well, despite my purchase showing up on my bank statement and my recent activity on Steam, the game itself wasn't in my library and on the game's page on Steam it showed the option to buy it. When you own a game the 'buy' button should switch to a 'play' button. So I couldn't play the game. I checked back several times throughout the day but there was no change. I'll give it another day or two to see if it is just taking a little longer on their end but if nothing happens I'll email them and hope it's an easy fix.

Instead of playing a game, I watched movies on Netflix. Starting with Unicorn City, which came up as a recommendation after I watched Rock Jocks. In the same vein as that movie, Unicorn City is a low-budget nerd movie. It is about a group of nerds who got mad that their dungeon master was making up rules as they went and screwing everyone over, so they decided to set up a real-life quest. Which means they dressed up, went came, and engaged in a bit of LARPing. It was an incredibly nerdy movie and the subject matter isn't really my thing, though I have also been mildly interested in D&D. Despite that, there were several funny lines throughout the movie so it kept me interested.

After that I moved onto 21 & Over, a movie I have wanted to see since it was out in theaters but I never got around to it. And that is unfortunate because it is a really funny movie. I could have done without all the male nudity but it was still funny. I like all three of the main actors and I laughed out loud on multiple occasions. The plot was pretty ridiculous and got a little dark, taking a different angle on the up-all-night, partying, adventure movie, and a lot of it was way over the top, but I enjoyed the humor.

Based on a recommendation after that movie I watched A Good Old Fashioned Orgy. Another movie that I have wanted to watch for awhile now because I like Jason Sudeikis and Tyler Labine. I enjoyed all the funny but I would say my only real disappoint with the movie was the orgy. Not anything about the orgy but the fact that it existed in the first place. It just seemed like the writers had an idea that sounded funny and wanted to put it in the title to hopefully draw people in. They kept it funny throughout the orgy but it kind of took me out of the movie. In my opinion, a group of old friends isn't going to engage in a big orgy, switching partners throughout the night, and then end up perfectly happy in the morning. There was a moment at the beginning of it where they all started having second thoughts and I thought maybe that would take the movie in an interesting and more realistic direction. But it didn't. So I watched a movie about an orgy and wished the orgy wasn't actually a thing in the movie. Maybe that makes me weird. It was a good comedy though.

After that I started watching Blue Crush 2 but only made it about halfway through before I had to go to work. I believe I previewed the original, way back whenever that came out, and I don't remember having a high opinion of it. I need to watch it again to see if that is the case. As for the second one, I can see why it didn't get any Oscar buzz. They have a lot of surfing shots that obviously show the surfing-double and then switch to tight shots on the wet faces of the actors who are supposed to be surfing. I wasn't paying that much attention but I think at least a few of the people are actual surfers but I've seen more than one poorly disguised double. Putting someone in the same swimsuit isn't enough to then show a close shot of that person. And the story. A young rich girl runs away her over-worked father to South Africa on a whim to surf the spot her mom wanted to surf before she died. Maybe the movie will get better but I imagine it will be much of the same.

Last night at work I briefly started reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King and I continued reading it tonight. I can't remember the exact synopsis for it but I think it is about a guy who is able to time travel and has the opportunity to stop the assassination of JFK. It sounded interesting and it was only two or three dollars on my Kindle. I also started reading Graveyard Shift by Chris Westwood, a book I got at the book fair this year. It is about a boy who can see dead people and gets a job with a strange dude at an agency that helps dead people find their way. In a way it kind of reminds me of Men In Black and makes me want to read that book again. Different concepts but both involve an outsider with a special talent joining a secretive agency. I was also able to catch the two main parts of Homefront that I missed last night.

While at work my friend texted me about the death of Paul Walker. That really sucks. Other than being a fan of the Fast & Furious franchise (other than the second one), I didn't really follow his career. But he seemed like one of the good ones. I never really heard anything bad about him. And he spent the hours before his death at a charity event. That just makes it suck all the more. I don't wish death on anyone because it is one of the few things that I absolutely hate, but when decent people die it seems all the more unfair that there are so many awful people still in the world. I am also mildly annoyed that my empathic nature can affect my mood and lead me to feel a sense of loss for the death of someone I have never met and know very little about. I'm kind of in a bummer mood now. It won't last very long if I manage not to dwell on it but it is still a bit of a nuisance. I am glad that I can experience the wide range of emotions that are at the disposal of humans but it can be tiring.

To end on a happier note, here is a joke I read in 11/22/63 that made me laugh out loud:

“Tourist from Chicago driving a fancy sportscar pulls up to a farmhouse way out in the country. Old farmer's sitting on the porch, smoking a corncob pipe. Tourist leans out of his Jaguar and asks, 'Say, oldtimer, can you tell me how to get to East Machias?' Old farmer puffs thoughtfully on his pipe a time or two, then says, 'Don'tcha move a goddam inch.'”