1000

This post is the 1000th post since I started Sterfish's Place nearly six years ago.

1000.

It's such a large number for me that it's hard to process. It doesn't seem like I've written that many posts over the years. My output for this blog, my original blog, has slowed down considerably in the past couple of years. It's gone through many failed experiments, vows to “post more,” and other lofty goals I didn't make. I've gone from very actively trying to promote it to sometimes making it no more than a repository of my reviews for other sites. Still, it's quite a milestone for me.

A lot has changed across 1000 posts. This blog used to be as much about my life as much as it is about reviews. That's not so much the case anymore, perhaps for the better. Even as what I post changes, there is one thing that hasn't: my love of writing and blogging.

Here's to the next 1000 posts. May they be just as fun to write as the first 1000.

DVD Review: Big Windup! – Part One (Episodes 1-13)

The new anime series Big Windup! is one of the select few sports-related anime series to ever get released in America. Based on the manga by Asa Higuchi, the show is now available on DVD in a Part One set collecting the first 13 episodes. This drama about a fledgling high school baseball team is filled with appealing characters, good sports action, and strong character development. Whether you're an anime fan, a sports fan, or neither, Big Windup! certainly entertains.

The story begins with Ren Mihashi, a student who has transferred from the private Mihoshi Academy (which his grandfather owns) to the public Nishiura High School. As the ace pitcher for Mihoshi's baseball team in middle school, he was blamed by the team for their losing record. Many felt that nepotism was the only reason Mihashi was the ace in the first place.

Mihashi is a character you will either feel sorry for or hate with a passion. He's a bit of a mess who startles easily, acts awkward around others, and is prone to crying. When he's recruited for Nishiura's new baseball team, he's paired with the team's catcher, Takaya Abe. Abe is pretty much the complete opposite of Mihashi. An intelligent, confident player, Abe is easily annoyed by Mihashi's quirks. However, he's also the one who realizes the true extent of Mihashi's talent.

One of the major strengths of Big Windup! is the way it handles its characters. The first major arc of the series, where the team takes on Mihashi's former teammates at Mihoshi Academy in a practice game, is a good example of this. The show doesn't take the easy way out and completely vilify the Mihoshi team. Instead, it shows things from both teams' perspectives. It lets us get inside the characters' heads and find out their thoughts. As a result, the arc's ending has a bit more resonance than just simply a win or a loss.

Fortunately, the show is not too serious for its own good. There is a good amount of humor, much of it coming from the awkward relationship between Mihashi and Abe. They clash, as one character notes, “like an old married couple.” There are also some homoerotic undertones that produce both intentional and unintentional laughs. Things don't get too silly as to disrupt the drama, though.

This DVD set contains both English and Japanese language tracks (with available English subtitles). The English dub is quite good and the voice actors are well cast in their roles. Listening to the show in English makes some of the more technical scenes easier to digest. The extras on the set are few, consisting only of textless versions of the opening and ending along with some trailers.

Watching Big Windup! makes you wonder why more sports-themed anime aren't brought over. It makes the sport of baseball appealing in a way that's not unrealistic or over-the-top. It also gives non-fans and casual fans a good idea of how much effort really goes into the game. This Part One set definitely leaves you wanting more and with the Part Two set also available, you don't have to wait long.

If you're interested in checking out the show without buying the DVD set, the first four episodes of the show are available to view on a number of sites including Hulu, YouTube, Anime News Network, and Funimation.com.

[Note: Look for the review of the Part Two DVD set to appear on Blogcritics very soon.]

Movie Review: Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs

Based on the children's book by Judi and Ron Barrett, Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs gleefully takes the simple idea of food raining from the sky to ridiculous, over-the-top proportions. What could've been a flashy but uninteresting movie is instead filled with humor, heart, and action. An amazing voice cast, wonderful animation, and a nice 3D presentation all help make this movie a lot of fun.

The story revolves around Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader), an inventor whose creations always seem to wreak havoc in his hometown of Swallow Falls. The town, housed on a small island “under the 'A' in the Atlantic” Ocean, has fallen on hard times. The town's sardine canning plant has closed down and now the residents live only on the leftover sardines.

Hoping to save the town, Flint invents a machine that turns water into food. In an attempt to get the machine working, he launches it into the stratosphere. This destroys the theme park the town banked on to draw tourists. Suddenly, cheeseburgers rain from the sky and everything changes. No one has to eat sardines any longer and the town has something to put it on the map. However, when the machine starts to get overworked, even stranger things start to happen.

When a movie features the credit “A Film By A Lot of People,” you know that it doesn't take itself seriously. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs has a hip, fresh feel without seeming forced or edgy. There are a lot of great gags throughout the film, including many background gags that callback to things seen earlier in the movie. The movie also pokes fun at Jerry Bruckheimer-esque blockbusters, especially in its action scenes.

The proceedings are also helped by an all-star cast of supporting characters. Anna Faris voices the female lead, Sam Sparks. She is an intern at Weather News Network who gets her big chance covering the food weather of Swallow Falls. There is more to Sam than meets the eye as she and Flint have more in common than you'd expect.

James Caan voices Flint's father Tim, a gruff widower who doesn't really know how to communicate with his son. Mr. T voices the energetic and ultra-athletic cop Earl and Bill Hader's SNL castmate Andy Samberg voices Brent, the town's local celebrity. Other voices include Neil Patrick Harris, Al Roker, Bruce Campbell, Will Forte, Lauren Graham, and Benjamin Bratt, who is hilarious (and unrecognizable) in his small role.

The animation in this film is top-notch. The movie has a cartoony style that fits the material. The animators do a great job with everything thrown at them whether it's a tornado made of spaghetti or a flying car evading slices of pizza. The digital 3D presentation is very nice as well. The whole “objects flying out the screen” cliché is thankfully not overused. The 3D isn't a must but it certainly makes the movie a little more fun to watch.

First-time feature directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (best known for the animated series Clone High) have crafted a really fun and delightful film in Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs. They packed a lot into the movie's short running time but it all works. This is another winner for Sony Pictures Animation after the supremely underrated Surf's Up. More movies like this and they'll provide some real competition for the Disney/Pixar, Dreamworks, and Blue Sky trifecta.

CD Review: The Ecstatic by Mos Def

In recent years, Mos Def has become more well-known for his acting than his music. His latest album suggests that it should be the other way around. With a unique sound all its own, The Ecstatic is one of the more intriguing hip-hop albums released so far this year. While its quirks take some getting used to, this album is certainly worth your time.

The feel of this album is quite different from a lot of hip-hop efforts. Most of the tracks on the album (nine out of sixteen) are less than three minutes long. Three of those tracks are less than two minutes long.

However, don't let the length of the tracks fool you. None of them are pointless interludes or skits. Every track actually feels like a song. “Priority,” with its deceptively simple beat courtesy of producer Preservation, is both a highlight of the album and its shortest track.

Working with a variety of producers, Mos Def has created some interesting sounds for The Ecstatic. One thing that stands out is the use of Eastern music samples. “Supermagic,” gets the album off to a rousing start with passionate sampled vocals and some funky guitar. The stellar “Auditorium” glides over some beautiful strings with a Bollywood feel. The Madlib-produced track is aided by the appearance of hip-hop legend Slick Rick.

“The Embassy” starts off as a skit taking place on an airplane and becomes something else entirely. A smooth beat is interchanged with a jangling, Eastern music sample. Other tracks on the album sound closer to what many would expect of Mos Def. He reunites with Black Star colleague Talib Kweli on “History,”and teams with Georgia Anne Muldrow on the R & B-tinged “Roses.” The album's closer, “Casa Bey,” has him riding a jazzy track.

The Ecstatic is a solid album from start to finish. The production is top-notch and its sound makes it stand out from a lot of other hip-hop albums. Mos Def thankfully spends more time rapping than singing as well. The only thing about this album is that it can take some time to get into. Traditional song structures are thrown to the wind on some of the tracks here and that can be jarring.

However, this is an album that gets better with each listen as you begin to appreciate what Mos Def is doing. If you are a Mos Def fan or someone looking for hip-hop that's a bit more artistic, you should check out this album.

The New TV

A little while back, I blogged about my experience with TV's and how my sister's TV made me want to get a new one for the first time.  Well, I took the plunge and bought my first-ever brand-new TV.  Of course, I didn't decide to get a new TV just on a whim.  I had an "excuse."

The TV in our basement, where my sister and I have set up our Wii, essentially went haywire.  It suddenly would cut itself on and off and go to full volume (without letting you turn it down).  The interesting thing about this is that this TV was one of the newest in the house.  It was barely three years old and until my sister got her TV, it was the only TV in the house with a digital tuner. 

I guess it was a case of "you get what you pay for" as not only did the TV come from Wal-Mart but it was also less than $150.  Still, considering that it wasn't used all that much compared to the other TV's in the house, it didn't last as long as I thought it would.

Anyway, with that TV out of commission, it meant that there was no TV to use for the Wii.  The basement is the only logical place to put the Wii because it's the largest area in our house and the only one where multiple people could play without hitting something.  This made me decide to buy a new TV so I could take my previous TV (which still works) downstairs for us to play Wii on. 

I narrowed down my choices to two TV's.  One was exactly like my sister's and the other was larger, and slightly more expensive.  I decided to splurge on the larger one.  It's a 26" Insignia HDTV and I've been enjoying it quite a bit in the few days I've had it.  I have an HD DVR (just like my sister) and I've been watching random stuff I normally wouldn't watch just to see it in HD. 

Insignia is one of Best Buy's private brands and although my previous experiences with Best Buy store brands have been hit-or-miss (computer mouse--good, portable CD player--bad), I'm kind of glad I got this TV.  For one thing, it came with a component video cord and a VGA cord.  It also came with a remote control holder. 

One side note:  How come animation looks so much better in HD than live action?  Many of the Disney Channel's animated shows are done in HD and they look spectacular.  Even a show like The Replacements just pops.

Lately, I had been spending more time at the computer than watching TV in my room.  Now with my new TV, the reverse is true.

10 Years Is A Long Time

The other day at work, I saw someone I went to high school with. I had not seen that guy since I graduated. When I saw him, it dawned upon me how much time has passed. It's been 10 years since I graduated high school.

I don't associate with any of the people I went to high school with now. There are a few reasons for that. For one thing, I didn't have any good friends in high school. I knew and connected with a decent amount of people (especially considering that in general, I'm shy) but I never hung out with them after school or over the summer. I saw them at school, talked with them, and that was it.

Also, I graduated in the days before social networks. Hell, I didn't own a real computer of my own until I went to college. It's a lot easier to keep in touch with people now if you want to.

Frankly, I didn't really like high school that much. I went to a small Catholic school from K-8 and it was a jarring experience for me to go to a large public high school. I got picked on somewhat throughout my time there and many people made assumptions about me.

The guy who I saw at work was actually one of the people who did pick on me a bit. In hindsight, nothing he did was really that bad. However, considering that I was quite unhappy in high school and that I had no real friends, it was really annoying at the time.

Whenever you see movies with high school reunions, the general rule seems to be that the nerdy guys change for the better and the douchebags remain douchebags. The guy I saw at work was surprisingly easygoing towards me compared to the way he was in high school. People can and do change. Ten years is a long time.

Tales From The Workplace: The Most Annoying Customer Ever

Today's installment of the new Tales From The Workplace series involves the most annoying, nerve-wrecking customer I have ever dealt with. This story involves everything from general douchebaggery to essentially sexual harassment. And, once again, it's all true.

My encounters with this customer took place a couple of years ago, when I was an associate working on the sales floor. The customer in question was a married man, likely in his 30's. When I first met him, he came to the store looking for bikes for himself and his wife. I talked to him and showed him the various bikes we had.

He found one bike he liked and that's when things started to get weird. This guy is one of those people who chats up everyone he meets but instead of coming off as a nice guy, he comes off as a little creepy. He found one bike he liked and started riding it in the store (a big no-no). He liked the bike so much, he felt the need to go up to every other customer who came into the area. He didn't just tell them about the bike, he essentially made them get on the bike to try it for themselves.

He did this to two people. The first person was an attractive woman. He charmed her and had her get on the bike (which was way too big for her). It seemed like the guy was just a natural flirt and certainly enjoyed helping this woman without his wife around.

The second person he did this to, however, was quite different. A young, muscular white guy in a sleeveless shirt and shorts came by the department. The man chatted him up too, asking about his football team (the guy had on a high school tee), his workout regime, and happily commenting on how buff he was. He then also asked this guy to ride the bike too. It wasn't exactly the same as the incident with the woman as he was less touchy feely. However, it still felt a bit odd.

The man would come back a couple more times to the store and most of the associates on the floor did not want to deal with him. Hell, even the store manager at the time didn't want to deal with him. Trying to sell to him was like trying to sell to an uncontrollable pixie. At times, it felt like he had adult ADD.

However, the final incident with him was the last straw for me. The man, his wife, and his kid all came to the store as he finally decided to buy bikes for himself and his wife. I was at the register with him and he saw one of the female cashiers. She was black and had what another associate called a "stupid big booty." He quietly started making lewd comments to me about her. He then looked down at my crotch and told me that it looked like I was reacting to her too.

While I was uncomfortable, I didn't let it faze me and just ignored his comment. His wife noticed my discomfort, though, and it led to something even more bizarre. I left the register area to continue working when his wife caught me. She asked me what her husband told me and I didn't really say anything. Then she dropped this bombshell: "I'm asking because I want to know if I have a gay husband."

I told her exactly what he said and she then apologized for him. When he saw me after the conversation with his wife, he shrugged it off saying that "women don't understand how men talk."

I've helped plenty of customers who were annoying but none of them can top the married man with the douchebag personality who flirts with anything that walks, makes secret lewd comments to me about my co-workers, and managed to make his wife ask me if he was gay.