Recently, I had the fortune to discover a technique that’s helped me become more productive when working from home. It’s called the Pomodoro Technique, and it’s a simple, free, easy to implement time management system that has completely changed the way I approach my work.
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Recently, I watched the premiere episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. If you enjoy senseless highly stylized violence, mixed with copious amounts of tits and ass, you will definitely want to catch this new series!
BTW – Season One of Spartacus: Blood and Sand is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
A Blatant Copy of Past Works?
After watching a few minutes of Spartacus: Blood and Sand you will immediately see its similarity to such movies as The Gladiator and 300. In fact, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to call this mini-series a blatant rip off of past works.
More specifically, the show mirrors The Gladiator’s plot and largely copies 300’s art direction and fight choreography. What the show evidently boils down to is graphic scenes of hand-to-hand combat interrupted by graphic scenes of sex and random nudity.
But I’m not going to harp on the presentation and substance of Spartacus — it offers exactly the kind of mindless testosterone fueled action that certain demographics enjoy. And that’s what this show is all about – simple R-rated entertainment.
Believe me, you already know the setup, the polarized cast good and evil characters and the much romanticized time period of the Roman era. So really, what you’re experiencing is a massive rehash of something many people can’t seem to get enough of – the brave hero who bangs an impossibly hot wife, who has his town destroyed and his woman kidnapped/killed, who then must battle in the arena of death for revenge and justice!
An Adolescent Boy’s Wet Dream
Filled with a cast of hot models, chiseled warriors and teeth gnashing villains, Spartacus is as superficial and contrived as it sounds. There is nothing innovative in its presentation or plot (thus far), but that’s fine if you just want to catch some blood-letting action on a Sunday night — and see the entire female cast nude. Indeed, there are some very hot women on the show, including Viva Bianca and Erin Cummings.
Review Wrap-up
I could barely sit through the first half of the premiere episode knowing exactly what would happen and the premise that was being set. But I did watch the entire episode, due largely to a shameful habit of finishing anything that I’ve started watching. (I need help for that.)
And I’ll probably tune in again next week.
To its credit, the production values are noticeably high and the action isn’t half-bad; I just wish they’d invest in an original plot and use less slow-motion in the action scenes. I also feel that they’ve got a few plot twists up their sleeve that I’m sure we’ll see if the series continues.
I’m cautiously optimistic about Spartacus: Blood and Sand.
Have you seen the show yet? Share us your thoughts.
*UPDATE*
Season One of Spartacus: Blood and Sand is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.
I’ve been using the Apple Magic Mouse for a few months with my MacBook Pro, Apple Wireless Keyboard and external display. In short, the Magic mouse has performed well and I thought I would share my thoughts on its features and performance.
When the Apple Magic Mouse was first announced many people, including myself, were concerned by its sleek form factor. At first, I was slightly annoyed that I wouldn’t be able to cup the mouse in my palm like I had always done with previous mice. However, after several months of daily use, I can report that I have no complaints concerning its low profile. I’ve simply gotten used to its shape, and I find its symmetrical design easier to grasp when moving my hand back and forth from the keyboard. To operate the mouse, I slightly pinch the device between my thumb, ring and pinky fingers, resting my index and middle finger on its top surface. I have found this to be a comfortable way to use the mouse for many hours at a time.
By far, the most talked about and innovative feature of the Apple Magic Mouse is its multi-touch surface. Having been the owner of several iPhones and MacBook Pros, the marriage of a Multi-Touch surface to yet another input device has been a godsend. Once you realize that there’s no need for buttons and scroll wheels, you’ll understand why Multi-Touch is the way of the future.
Left and right clicking and multidirectional scrolling works intuitively and predictably. Furthermore, several freely available apps have made it possible to unlock other Multi-Touch gestures, including the same three and four finger gestures that are available on the newer MacBook trackpads. However, due to the relatively narrow surface of the Apple Magic Mouse, I have found that most of these unlocked gestures are difficult to perform reliably. This is probably why Apple chose to not support them even though the hardware is capable of tracking more than just two fingers. One extra gesture that I do use is the three finger click, which I’ve tasked to activate exposé.
Regarding battery life, I received my first low battery warning after two months of daily use. Fortunately, the Magic Mouse uses regular AA batteries, which are pretty easy to swap out from a latch on the bottom of the mouse. When I get some cash together I’ll probably buy some Sanyo Eneloops to replace the disposables that I’m currently using.
The construction of the Apple Magic Mouse appears pretty robust. Absent of physical buttons or a scroll wheel there are not the usual crevices and gaps that are found on traditional mice, meaning less opportunities for the device to accumulate filth and break. One thing that did concern me was that the top plastic surface seems to scratch easily. These scratches are too superficial to be felt, but they tend to catch the eye when the light hits them at the right angle. This is a pretty mild complaint, but I did notice that several of these scratches were present when the mouse was brand new.
To summarize, the Apple Magic Mouse performs admirably and its Multi-Touch surface is what I now consider to be a must-have feature for a modern input device. If you own a iMac or use a Macbook with an external display, you should definitely pick up this mouse!
When Kristen Kreuk was cast to play Chun Li in the latest Street Fighter movie, I was pretty stoked. But could she fight? Could she act? Would the battered Street Fighter brand be finally redeemed on the silver screen? These were some heavy questions everyone was asking, including myself. But really – and I think I speak for a lot of men people here – my main interest was seeing this stunning half-Chinese, half-Dutch girl donning the Chun Li outfit, looking sexy, and making angry-cute faces at the bad guys!
To summarize my thoughts, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li is one of the worst action films I have ever seen, and will hopefully sound the death knell for live action attempts at the series.
The fight sequences, and there aren’t as many as you might expect, are barely a cut above daytime television standards. The wire-fu is particularly egregious, with excessive edits and fast camera pans unable to mask the lack of athletic ability of the cast. For a good reference (if not the golden standard) of what can be performed by a group of well-trained and choreographed actors, see Zhang Ziyi versus Michelle Kwon in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for a martial arts masterpiece.
I could go on and on about what makes Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li such a bad film, but that would be giving far too much attention to a movie that nobody should have to see. Unless, of course, you are a Kristin Kreuk fan!
Yes, there are plenty of interesting shots of Kristin Kreuk in this film, and she shows her complete range of acting emotions, notably: anger, sadness and anger-sadness. Or, pretty much exactly what she delivered on Smallville for all those years.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to wear any sexy outfits during this outing – not even the high cut skirt worn by Chun-Li in the videogame that is infamously popular among the otaku crowd. It seems that the makers of the film deliberately tried to downplay Kristen’s sex appeal, perhaps to make her a better role model for young women. This was obviously a mistake.
So, if you are a diehard Kristen Kreuk fan, and can stomach the terrible plot, script and acting in this film, at least you can enjoy staring at this magnificent beauty for a solid 90 minutes while you simultaneously try to scrub the rest of the show from your bleeding senses. Also, there are a couple cool tracks by rapper Ace Hood to give the soundtrack a bit of gangstaness, although it’s hardly enough to save the film.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li gets a 2/10. One point for Kristin Kreuk’s adorably strange facial expressions, and another for featuring Ace Hood on the soundtrack.
