Dirty Harry

I actually don't remember if I have ever watched the original Dirty Harry in its entirety.  If I did, it was decades ago and I wouldn't have remembered a bit of it anyway.  I watched it last night.  I'm trying to recall why I was spurred to watch the movie, and I think it was a big tangent I was on in Wikipedia yesterday.  I somehow ended up on Clint Eastwood's filmography.

This movie was released in 1971, so I was expecting one thing when I started watching it:  to be bored.  This was a different time and a different mentality when it came to movies.  Back then, they would start very slow and the action would build up.  These days, filmmakers correctly assume that their audience wants to be entertained as soon as the title fades out.  Instant gratification.  Now, now, now.

I was pleasantly surprised that this movie did not start out slow.  But what was also quite intriguing is that it also didn't start out with a slam-bang action sequence like you would see in a James Bond film.  It started with a sniper on a rooftop shooting a swimming girl in the neck, followed by the police investigating the aftermath.  No chase scene.  No shootout.  No crazy stunts or explosions.  But, I was interested.  I was entertained.  The point I'm making here is that it was good film making, and it was done without crazy special effects or tricks.  Yes, I'm making a jab at today's movies.  Some of them could learn something from this film.

Moving on, let's go over my least favorite and most favorite parts of the film.

As for least favorite, not much to say here.  There are a few things that are dated, so I cannot complain too much since it is a 1971 film.  The only thing I will mention is how Harry reacted to Scorpio going free.  I'm sure any police officer, especially one with the number of years of experience that Harry clearly has, would know what would happen if he would arrest, torture, and gather evidence from Scorpio without a search warrant to enter the premises.  The fact that he was surprised at the District Attorney's decision made him look a little bit thick.  But I suppose, in 1971 the general public didn't really know all that much about police procedures.  Movies and television weren't as "smart" then as they are now (I use that term loosely).  But still, I didn't like that.  That's really the ONLY negative thing I have to say about the film.

Now for the positives.  The story was a simple one, but excellent.  Basically, there's a serial killer in San Francisco, and he's toying with the police.  Harry goes after him, breaking rules as he does so.  In the climax, Harry solves the case in his own way, renouncing his badge at the end of it all.  You're left with a tremendous amount of respect for the guy.  He did things the way any one of us would have wanted to do it, which is naturally not the "RIGHT" way to do it.  Harry is a man disillusioned with the "system", evidenced by his line late in the movie:

District Attorney:  "It's the law."
Harry:  "Well, then the law is crazy."

I really like Harry's character.  He's cynical and rough, which is just the way I like my heroes.  He's the kind of guy who really doesn't want to do what he's doing, but he knows he really has to do it because it's the right thing to do.  The bank robbery scene is probably my favorite part of the whole movie.

All in all, it's an excellent movie that I would recommend to anyone.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

I got to work this morning (yes, I work on MLK Day, unlike the government), and I opened up a web browser.  My home page is set to Google.  While there, I noticed on the front page that the normal Google logo was replaced by 4 children playing hop scotch.  I was confused as to what this meant, so I put my mouse on the image to see what the caption was.  It simply said, "Martin Luther King Jr. Day".  I looked at the image again to see why the hell a picture of 4 kids playing would be relevant to MLK, and realized that two of them were black, and two of them were white.

The fact that before I read the caption, all I saw was 4 children playing, is enough to tell me that perhaps MLK's dream will, one day, come true.  

I Disagree

http://media.mmo-champion.com/images/news/2011/january/raidingtactics.jpg


So, if I am taking insane amounts of damage, you want me to kite the boss?  Really?  So you want me to move the dragon around so he cleaves the melee?  Breathes fire on the ranged?  Tailswipes the healers?  STILL HITS ME BECAUSE HE MOVES FASTER THAN I DO?

The correct answer is "Utilize damage reduction cooldowns."

There are very, very, very few cases where a boss is designed to be kited, and in those instances he will naturally gain some kind of buff that gives him additional damage done while also slowing down his movement speed so he actually can be kited.

It's situational and a minority of boss fights.  Sorry, your pretty picture is incorrect.  

Why So Serious?

That line has been in my head for a couple of days now.  I've been trying to remember why, and I just got it:  Yesterday during the pizza party here at work, when I went into the kitchen to get my pizza, Rodney commented that I looked too serious.  That led me to turn to him, tilt my head to the side, and say the line.  I really want to watch The Dark Knight now.

Moving on, I had a really, really bizarre dream last night, and I'm pretty sure it was a recurring one that I've had before (and possibly finished last night).  I was kidnapped by a sexual predator, and he had me tied up to a chair in his apartment.  I don't recall any of the nasty things he did to me, but I'm pretty sure he DID do nasty things to me.  I was rescued by two or three people that were complete strangers to me, and I don't recall how they found me.  I vaguely remember that I somehow contacted them, but I really can't remember exactly how it went.  In any case, someone untied me while my captor was out, and I pretended to be still tied up when he returned.  Then I punched him in the balls.  It was quite satisfying.

I suspect the dream was a recurring one because I had this slight feeling of familiarity through the entire thing last night, and one of the things I recall thinking when I woke up this morning was "Oh good, I'm glad I got that finished."

That leaves me to only wonder why I would dream of such a thing.  I've never had a fear of being kidnapped by a sexual predator, nor is it something that I'm prone to think about...ever.  My ONLY theory is that last night, someone in my raid was having trouble with their wireless internet, and when it was suggested they actually use a wire, they said to do so would require laying down on their basement floor.  This naturally led me to make a Silence of the Lambs reference about putting the lotion in the basket.  It's possible my mind went to that movie and the kidnapped girl in question, during my dream last night.  But, that doesn't explain why I feel the dream was a recurring one, unless I'm simply mistaken about that.

I'm this close || to buying DC Universe Online.  

Bitching

I've cut down on my perusal of forums.  I guess you could call that a New Year's Resolution, even though any time anyone asks me what my New Year's Resolution is, I tell them 1920x1080.  


The reason for this reduction in forum reading is quite simple:  I don't care about your opinion.  It saddens me to admit it, but I really don't, and this is mainly because it sucks and you presented it in a way that makes me want to punch you in the face for being so stupid.

I'm generalizing here, of course, but it gets my point across.  When I want an answer to a question, I want the answer to my question.  That's it.  I don't want to hear about your posturing.  I don't want your useless opinion on why the topic of discussion is stupid.  I don't want to hear what you did my with my mother last night.  Basically, I don't want to hear from you at all.  You should just shut the fuck up and sit the fuck down.  Maybe go make me a sandwich.  


Since forums encourage people to share their opinions, wanted or not (usually not), I've come to the conclusion that I just need to avoid them whenever possible and only utilize them when I just can't find the information I need elsewhere.  


Misanthropy is a wonderful thing.  

I've Returned

Whew, well that was certainly a very quick December.  I'm surprised I remember any of it.  The month typically goes fast because of all the running around in preparation for the holidays.  This year was even worse, because I was quite busy at work and I was also preparing for a week long trip to England. 

For those of you wondering, yes, my holidays were fantastic and so was my trip.  Thanks for asking. 

I would have posted here sooner, but I've been getting over a rather nasty cold that's been thoroughly kicking my ass ever since I got back into the country.  Just this evening I've actually started feeling like my old self again, although I still have a bit of a cough.  It's nothing I can't handle, however. 

Having a look at the coming year, it looks like it's going to be a rather interesting one as far as gaming is concerned.  For starters, we've got a brand new WoW expansion full of new raid bosses to take down.  And there's a metric shit-ton of great looking games coming out this very year, as well, some of which have already been released. 

And now if you'll excuse me, I've got some pissing around to do in WoW, while I wait for Neverwinter Nights 2 to finish downloading. 

Now playing: Them Crooked Vultures - Spinning In Daffodils