Good News Everyone! Futurama Is Back!

I'm all giddy for next week's release of the long-awaited Futurama straight-to-dvd movie, "Bender's Big Score". Simpsons should have passed the torch to Futurama and retired gracefully, but FOX never did have a clue what a great show they had on their hands. I'm grateful for it's return nevertheless, since I've rewatched the original series ad nauseum.

Ad and I went to not one, but two different holiday craft shows last weekend, and I pretty much came up empty handed. But I did discover a snack that uncannily resembles "Popplers" from the Futurama episode, "The Problem With Popplers". Not only does Cosmos caramel corn look identical to Popplers, but they're equally as addictive. They may be caramel covered, baked corn puffs, but they taste even better imagining they're sentient alien larvae.

I want more life....f*cker!

Last night's screening of the "Final Cut" of Blade Runner at the Cinerama was moviegoing at it's finest. The print was immaculate - I doubt any of the original prints in 1982 even compared. The sound literally shook the railings, and Roy Batty and Deckard never looked so glorious in Syd Mead's fantastic vision of 2019 Los Angeles. I'm looking forward to having a dangerous, illegal, and taboo relationship with a replicant for my 51st birthday.

The changes were minor - mostly it was cleanup of the print, sound, and effects shots, including digitally removing the obnoxious wires lifting the full-scale spinners when they took off from the street, which always bothered me. The re-compositing of new footage with Joanna Cassidy crashing through glass in her death scene was flawless. My only minor complaint was that one of my favorite lines was tweaked - when Batty confronts Tyrell with the line "I want more life... FUCKER!", the line is now a softer, kind of mush-spoken "..father". But this hardly detracted from the overall improvements and the joy of seeing it in 70mm glory.

What happens in Vegas...

We touched down in Las Vegas Thursday, and immediately commenced upon a spree of booze, food, and gambling that would have made Henry VIII proud. Leaving soggy and cold Seattle behind for sun-kissed 85-degree desert-heat Vegas was a welcome break.

Thursday night we cavorted at Poly Esther's nightclub, since it was the only club we could find that would admit the casual attire of our party. We molested the wax statues of Madame Tussaud's at the Venetian, watched Penn & Teller work magic, and bowled at Lucky Strike Lanes at the Rio, where Beca rolled her personal best score of 174!

Saturday, Ad and I visited Hoover Dam, which lived up to it's hype. And in the wee hours of the morning, we played our favorite slot machine, "Ring Quest", and I hit a 20,100 credit jackpot (in pennies, sadly), making this my first Vegas trip where I left with winnings.

Ad and I are getting along better and better, even under the duress of a grueling return trip plagued by insanely long security lines, delayed flights, and tarmac shuttle mishaps at LAX (Note to self: Spring for the extra cost for direct flights unless it's obsenely expensive next go-round).


More pics of the lost weekend on Flickr: http://tinyurl.com/2vjjmc