Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Most Important Movie of the 21st Century

Soundtrack: Feed the Animals by Girl Talk

This afternoon, as I do every now and then, I was browsing through the film trailers on Apple's web site.  I ran across a trailer for a documentary about the American food industry.  It is called Food, Inc and it is probably going to be the most important film you will ever see in your life.

How and why do I feel qualified to make that assertion, you ask?  Because it is about something so simple that almost everyone has taken granted, yet it is one of the most basic of human necessities.

For as long as I've lived, just a tad over 28 years, my mom and dad strove to provide our fairly average family with nutritious food.  Even now that I've been out of the house for years she still goes out of her way to make sure my brother and I eat well.  It's one of the things that I have taken to heart, and I consider myself lucky because of it.  My eating habits could be healthier, but for the most part I avoid the things that I know are not good for me.  Saturated fats, high fructose corn syrup, chemical preservatives, etc.  And many of the people I know do the same thing.

But after seeing this trailer I have a feeling when I go to see this film it will completely floor me, and anyone else who watches it.  So please, do yourself a favor and go see it.  I have a feeling it will change your life.

You can see the trailer for the documentary here.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Rollin' A D40 For My Dead Homie

Soundtrack: "D'yer Mak'er" by Led Zeppelin

Last year I blogged about the death of Gary Gygax, one of the creators of the pen-and-paper role playing game Dungeons and Dragons.  A few days ago Dave Arneson, the other co-creator of the game, joined his buddy in the big dragon lair in the sky.  They leave a long legacy of gaming excellence.  In fact, after Gary's death last year Blizzard dedicated one of their World of Warcraft content patches to him.  I'd be surprised if they didn't do the same for Dave (conveniently, they have a big content patch shipping later this month).

Rest in piece, Dave.  And say hi to Gary for me!

Sunday, April 05, 2009

In Memoriam

Soundtrack: "Black" by Pearl Jam

15 years ago today Kurt Cobain died.  Nobody is really sure exactly when Layne Staley died 7 years ago but it was probably this day as well.  Both of these men were the epitome of the tortured artist.  Both of these men were bullhorns for my generation.  Both of these men died tragically to the demons that haunted them.  Both of these men are missed.

Goodbye boys.

Consider donating to the Layne Staley Fund.  It is a non-profit that is dedicated to providing hope, education, support and treatment funds for heroin recovery in the Seattle music community.