In which I watch a movie, visit with a friend, introduce myself, and bitch about some ads.

I caught Kill Bill: Vol. 1 last week. It was an interesting flick. Like all Tarantino flicks, I watched it once and enjoyed it but would prefer not to see it again. It’s hard to watch something that intense. I have mixed feelings about the movie. The total lack of character development and the almost total lack of plot bothered me. And the violence level was very high. On the other hand, the cinematography was impressive, the dialog was up to Tarantino’s regular standards, and the action sequences were breathtaking. It made me think of a series of beautiful, but rather unrelated, snapshots.

My friend JoAnn was in town for a visit. I showed her around Wausau; we visited a few thrift stores; visited Joyce, Brad, & Alex; and watched the Packers lose. A low-key, pleasant weekend.

Someone has threatened to link me from her blog. I sent the URL her way but no link yet. Just in case, I figure that I should give some of those people a point of reference. I play a character named Scavenger on the Barren Realms MUD. Just wanted to make sure that no one was confused.

There are a couple of ads that have been driving me insane! First up is the Mitsubishi Endeavor. They have this ad that starts out playing some catchy music (a song called Horndog by Overseer). But about 2/3rds of the way through the ad, the camera moves inside the SUV and zooms in on the kids watching SpongeBob SquarePants. Now, I got nothing against SpongeBob, but they blast the theme song for a few seconds. “Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? SpongeBob SquarePants!” And they run the ad over and over and over. It gets embedded in my brain. Please, do not buy an Endeavor. (Or at least not until they stop running that damn ad!) If you want to experience it for yourself, go to the Endeavor Image Gallery, click on “View our TV Commercials”, and play the Endeavor one.

The other one is for Progressive. It’s the one with the waitress having her customers get into a bidding war for her. The bit that bothers me is, “Excuse me, we’re in a hurry and I tip well.” “Oh, how well?” “Ten percent.” Okay, ten percent? TEN PERCENT? I know that they had to start low for the ad to make sense, but who in the hell thinks that TEN PERCENT is “tipping well”? I usually give 15% for crappy service. Every time I see that ad, I just want to punch that guy in the face! And the ad is on a lot, of course. (On a happier note, she ends up getting 30% and the customers bus their own tables.) That one is available at Progressive Commercials. Look for “Waitress”.