How I spent my spring breakation …

I caught a cold. It even came with a minor ear infection.  So I’ve been popping the amoxicillin and OTC cold remedies.  Bummer.

I saw Watchmen. I liked it.  It got a bum rap from the fanboys (and critics), but then again, how could it not?  Some of the reviews have said that it was too “reverent” towards it’s source material, but I thought that translated into a unique tone through the movie.  Plus, at almost three hours, it was a good entertainment bargain.

It's dark, but this was at the beginning of the show.

I saw Ratatat. Man, what a good band.  I can’t believe that this was the first time that I got to see them, but it was.  As it happens, the show was sold out, and I was worried about getting in.  But Mr. Baptiste was on their tour crew, and he and I used to trade stacks back and forth at the infamous games of the Armenian Poker Cartel, so he got me on the list and into the show. Thanks sir!!

The openers were interesting, too.  I particularly liked Despot, a rapper on Def Jux.  His set was a little drunk and disorderly, but he had a good flow.

Ratatat music video:

I read a horror book. The Descent, by Jeff Long.  No, it’s not the inspiration for the movie that came out a few years ago, but there are a lot of the same elements.  They both focus on monsterous homonids that live in deep caves.  But the movie was just that and nothing more, while the book gets a bit more lavish, postulating an incredibly vast underworld existing deep within the earth and providing an environment for an alternate evolution of creatures decended from Homo Erectus.  These creatures and the underworld they inhabit give rise to the traditional notions of “hell” and “demons”.  It wasn’t a perfect book, but I liked it.  It was certainly ambitious.  I understand there’s a sequel, and if I happen upon it, I’ll probably give it a read.  Or maybe not.

Casino floor at the Horseshoe, just outside the poker room.
Casino floor at the Horseshoe, just outside the poker room.

I went to the Horseshoe Casino, just south of Chicago, in Hammond, Indiana.  At last!  A real, live, full-blown casino, instead of a crappy dog track or indian joint with no table games and bullshit slots.  The Horseshoe was pretty nice, actually.  Got myself into a $1-2 no-limit hold ’em game for a reasonably paced seven-hour session.  Walked away about $250 up, too.  That’s a rate of almost $36/hour, which is adequate.

Oh, and I got a haircut. First time I’ve had short hair since I was 12 years old.

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2 thoughts on “How I spent my spring breakation …”

  1. Ugh, man, I’m a pretty huge Watchmen fanboy but I couldn’t deal with the movie at all. It seemed to me like Snyder spent so much time trying to ape the visuals that he completely lost sight of the ‘feel’ of the comic. I think what made Watchmen such a great graphic novel was the ponderous feel of it, and the impression that what you were reading was somehow a thoughtful examination of a pulpy subject matter — The movie seemed to miss that mark completely in revel more in the actual pulp than the subversion of it.

    But, honestly, the soundtrack really killed it for me. If there was ever a movie that was begging for a bombastic orchestral score, this was it, and instead, it was filled with obvious pop-music cues, and that sort of thing is a huge pet peeve of mine. “The Times They Are a-Changin'”? Come ON. (/gob)

  2. Oh, I think I have to disagree. Yeah, the music cues were a bit cheesy. But I also felt like it reflected the (somewhat modified) historical context.

    Of course, the music of the past would have sounded very different if a giant blue atomic superman exploded enemy soldiers throughout Vietnam. I’ve gotta figure that you can’t change history without changing the artistic climate and thus the musical expression.

    The only scene that really grated on me was the bit where they banged on the owl ship. Leonard Cohen? Seriously?

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