Photo of Ramona Flowers

Here's a photo of Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers from the new Scott Pilgrim movie.

I love the comic series - and if this wasn't obvious before now, I'm sure it will be as more news of the movie trickles out and I finish reading the recently purchased volume 5.

The photo comes from director Edgar Wright's Myspace Blog.

The Bee

I'm busy as a bee this week, what with work, exercising, and...well, those two are keeping more than busy. I haven't abandoned the posting here - it's taken the form of Twittering - which you can view on the right hand side of the page. I'm also still making posts on the other two blogs: A Year of Stories, Pirate and A Year of Loss and Health, Pirate.

Brevity the Busy Bee. That's me this week.

Week of Stories - Feb. 8

Stories read this week from over at A Year of Stories, Pirate.

Monday: “Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful…” by George Saunders * * * * *
Tuesday: “First Snow” by Davy Rothbart * * *
Wednesday: “The Phonebook Man” by Bentley Little * *
Thursday: “Loving the Dead” by Ronald F. Currie, Jr. * * * * *
Friday: “The Price” by Neil Gaiman * * *
Saturday: “La Pena” by Deb Olin Unferth * * *
Sunday: “The Man in the Black Suit” by Stephen King * * * *

My favorite story of the week was: “Lars Farf, Excessively Fearful Father and Husband”

From the review: “The joy in the story comes from the snowball effect of worry.”

I Tweet

I have joined Twitter to give you even more pirate-y goodness. (Three separate blogs weren't nearly enough.) For those of you not in the know, Twitter allows you to post brief messages -140 characters or less - via your mobile devices (or off the web). It's a way to follow a person as they go through the everyday motions of their life.

You can see the Escaping Tweets on the right hand side of the blog under the information About Me. If you already Twitter, you can follow me that way as well (search "escapepirate").

I've always thought Twitter to be quite interesting, and it now offers me the opportunity to keep writing even when I'm far away from computers - like that week of RAGBRAI each year.

This should be fun.

Week of Loss - Feb. 8

This week I lost 2.4 lbs., and am now within 45.8 lbs. of my goal weight.

Continue to monitor my progress and other health and wellness information over at A Year of Loss and Health, Pirate.

Coraline Review

CoralineRated PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
1 hour 40 minutes
Written and Directed by Henry Selick
From the Book by Neil Gaiman
Voice Talents of Dakota Fanning, Terri Hatcher, Keith David, and Ian McShane

* * * * (Great)

Coraline in 3D was great. I’m a big fan of stop-motion animation – have been ever since Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas, also directed by Coraline’s Henry Selick. The addition of the 3D – here used more to add depth to the film (the very best use of 3D, in my opinion), rather than just pointless pointed jabs to make you jump (i.e. My Bloody Valentine 3D), gave the film an extra weight. My favorite sequence was the opening scene, in which the Other Mother is crafting a Coraline doll as the credits play out – literally – over the creepiness of the doll’s creation. (The Girl liked the scene with the hummingbirds; she’s a hummingbird fan.)

What made this film only a 4-star flick, was the – oftentimes – radical departures from the source material, Neil Gaiman’s book of the same name. Normally I don’t get too hung up on details such as this, but after having reread the book recently (for the fourth or fifth time), it became glaringly obvious the wonderful lines taken straight from the text. More lines – more faithfulness – should have been observed because, honestly, they didn’t need changed. I can understand the additions made to make the film the film it was, but some part of me would have enjoyed the film a bit more dark and original, like the book.

Still, I recommend this movie highly to anyone a fan of the story, or animation in general. If you can catch it in 3D – you’ll be all the better for it.

Multiple Invitations

I'm being asked to Twitter and to write at Helium. There are new challenges being thrown down. The idea of a Flickr account has been tempting me for a little while. The girl wants my attention.

Where do I find the time? (Trust me, I'll find it; I am loving the hell out of all this writing - sharing.)

The possibilities are endless and overwhelming and amazing.

Scott Pilgrim Rules the World

The new Scott Pilgrim came out today. This is by far my favorite comic series being produced right now. I'm torn whether to just dive right into the new volume - volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe - or to reread the previous volumes before starting this new chapter. I believe I've reread before starting each new volume, so that's the direction I'm tilting toward. But, I'm so busy now, and that could take awhile, and I doubt I can wait very long.

Oh, the dilemma of enjoying something so much.

(And you can't tell it from the picture, but the whole cover - front and back - is holographic and totally awesome.)

A Few More from the Super Bowl

Here are a few more of the trailers I enjoyed from during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

I'm more than excited for the new Star Trek movie to come out. It just looks amazing.


I am one of the people that preferred Angels & Demons over The Da Vinci Code. The new trailer also looks great.



Will Ferrell is either quite funny, or extremely annoying. Lucky for us all, Land of the Lost appears to be Ferrell in the former. (It also stars the lovely Anna Friel from the late Pushing Daisies, and the hilarious Danny McBride from Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, and The Foot Fist Way).

Guitar Hero: Metallica - Not for Little Brothers

My brother (he's popular in the posts today) called to tell me that he heard Guitar Hero: Metallica would be coming to systems in March. He was not wrong about that. It'll hit the X-Box 360 (my system) and PS3 on March 29, 2009.

His concern was that there was no mention of the game for the Wii, his system. A little research on Amazon.com led me to this troubling - for little brothers - bit of information: Wii release of Guitar Hero: Metallica is May 31, 2009.

What a kick in the rock nuts.

Dangerous Roads

My brother sent me the link to a news article today. And I'm not normally the news-y type of person. But, apparently a group of pranksters hijacked some road construction signs to warn drivers of zombies and other dangers. The article poo-poo's the actions of the jokesters, but I found it all rather funny, and would have gotten a kick out of driving past such amusements.

Summer Blockbuster Mania (TOYS!)

Last night during the Super Bowl I was very pleased to see the trailers for two of my childhood toy franchise favorites: GI JOE and Transformers.

Here's the teaser trailer for GI JOE: Rise of Cobra:


And here's the teaser trailer for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen:

'Transformers 2' Trailer @ Yahoo! Video

New Red

I was just telling to my brother the other night about how I tend to be oblivious when bands I already follow put out new CDs. I get anxious for new finds, but somehow - someway - lose track of my old standbys.

Red Jumpsuit Apparatus has a new CD, Lonely Road, debuting this Tuesday. I noticed this in the Best Buy ad for this week and jumped on over to their website. There they had a couple of neat packages in promotion of pre-ordering the new disc. If I was back a to my less-than-thrifty self, I'd have taken advantage of the pre-order (there were some nifty bonuses). Instead, I'll use my remaining Best Buy Rewards Zone certificate and pick up the CD after my dentist appointment tomorrow for $5.

I'll spin it this week and let you know what I think of it soon.

Week of Stories - Feb. 1

Stories read this week from over at A Year of Stories, Pirate.

Monday: “Girl of My Dreams” by Richard Matheson * *
Tuesday: “The Raft” by Peter Orner * *
Wednesday: “The Red Fox Fur Coat” by Teolinda Gersao * * * *
Thursday: “Maps and Legends” by Michael Chabon * * * *
Friday: “Brant Bites Back” by Ken Bruen * *
Saturday: “The Woods Be Dark” by Bentley Little * * *
Sunday: “Harvey’s Dream” by Stephen King * * *

My favorite story of the week was: “Maps and Legends”

From the review: “I can see the appeal of moving to a city in its infancy, watching as buildings and lives and the eventual community, expand and prosper.”

Week of Loss - Feb. 1

This week I lost 3.6 lbs., and am now within 48.2 lbs. of my goal weight.

Continue to monitor my progress and other health and wellness information over at A Year of Loss and Health, Pirate.