remind me to never get a tattoo.

And since the event was so blogcentric, I thought I'd better post something here immediately. The dead-tree journalists would make you wait until tomorrow to hear their opinions of the movie. Can you afford to wait that long?

Clearly not. So: it was good. I had only seen an episode or two of Firefly coming into it and had developed a favorable impression, albeit not a strong one. This was a very conventional plot, and Matt seemed to think that its scope didn't really serve the franchise. The second half did feel a bit like Whedon's usual ensemble routine was being stretched over a story that was a little too big.

But hey, I guess that's what you do when you turn a TV show into a movie. Like I said, it was good. You should go see it.

Anyway, slight spoiler behind the cut. For more, Variety has a review here, which is worth reading if you've never read anything from Variety. Which apparently I hadn't. Is the whole paper like this? How do they keep angry citizens from burning the building down? How are they going to keep me from doing it?

But the evening's most important revelation: the Doom movie features shots from a first person perspective, complete with a gun in the foreground. It's just like the videogame! After a few minutes' reflection it's clear that this effect must be a lot harder to use effectively in a movie than it is in a preview, but still — this film could be marginally more interesting than I had imagined. It's still guaranteed to be terrible, of course. But for FPS junkies, it might be kind of fun.

but what is up with the ridiculous cross-promotion or just-plain-weird promotion going on by the anchors DURING SPORTS GAMES WHEN THEY SHOULD BE COMMENTATING? i'm watching monday night football (it provides a soothing background for comma studying and article writing), and they just had gina davis on for a painful five-minute interview about her new show, commander in chief, which premieres tomorrow on abc. i understand showing COMMERCIALS during MNF for a new show, but aren't you going to alienate and piss off fans who just want to hear the crazy anchor men talk about, you know, the game, and don't want to look at a creepily masculine gina davis? also, what happened to her? didn't she used to be kind of hot?

i was also watching the cubs' game yesterday on the local tv station (as an aside: i've gone crazy, opted to not get cable, and only get broadcast now, and i soon might find myself missing even michael chiarello) and found an even more mind-bogglingly bizarre promo. i tuned in a bit late, so i'm not sure exactly why this was happening, or in what way it benefited the station, but anyway: they had kids from a local band sing "take me out to the ballgame," and before and after the song kept playing clips of the group, and the 50-something anchors raved, literally gushed, about how mind-blowingingly awesome this band (who looked like a younger, less-cracked-out version of the libertines) was. they then had a band member do commentary for a while on the game with the anchors, except the entire thing turned into a discussion of the local music scene, with the band kid sounding bemused and stoned the whole time while the old guy anchors talked about how great some local indie bands were. NEVERMIND THE BASEBALL GAME OR ANYTHING.

what. the. fuck.

is this a new phenomenon, or have i just somehow managed to avoid it up until now?

i'm pretty sure the comma is a tool of the devil. seriously, devil, lay off of it.

but in good news, i spoke with my new media advisor today, and there are exciting options coming up on that front. we'll see if any of them pan out. but just thinking about all the new media goodness gets me tingly. in the intellectual way.

i have another j-school lesson: time spent in class (or studying comma use) is inversely proportional to time spent blogging. it's because they secretly hate the blogging.

Like so many other easily-bought bloggers, I signed up for the Serenity blogger screening dealy. I was a little disappointed to get an email saying the following:

Congratulations! You are one of the lucky bloggers to be chosen and confirmed for the screening of SERENITY for the time, date and the number of guests that you have requested. Please note, this confirmation DOES NOT guarantee you a seat at the screening.

To significantly increase your chances of getting into the screening, you MUST do the following:

• You MUST include the film’s synopsis on your blog (synopsis below) and you MUST link your blog to the SERENITY website (which has the trailer and production notes) http://www.serenitymovie.com and featured artwork. After you have screened the film, please discuss it on your blog. Please provide us the links to all of your blog posts on SERENITY at serenity@gracehillmedia.com
• etc, etc.

So, for the record: a ragtag bunch of misfits live, love and struggle to survive in a world beyond imagination. Oh, and did I mention that someone might have an amazing secret? Or that something might not be all that it seems? Well, they might. Also, it's in space.

There. Duty discharged. But then, at the very bottom of the email, there's this:

Seats are not guaranteed, are limited to theatre capacity and are first-come, first-served.

So, the poor clipboard-wielding sixteen year-old that I expect to meet at the theater will not have combed the internet to make sure everyone's playing by the rules. Surprising, I know.

I'm genuinely excited to see this movie. Joss Whedon is an entertaining guy, and my friends tell me that Firefly is great. Also, it's set in space, which I am on the record as favoring.

So: anybody want to go? I signed up for two tickets, and would be happy to give one of my potentially nonexistent seats away. Please note that in order to significantly increase your chances of getting the ticket, you must include a synopsis of this contest on your blog. And after the screening, please discuss it on your blog. For instance: did that shirt make me look fat? Were you repulsed by the amount of popcorn I ate? Be creative and honest, but not at all critical. And of course, please provide us with links to all your posts on GOING TO THE MOVIE WITH TOM.

The ticket will actually be distributed to the first person who asks me for it.

So awesome.

Via In Shaw, have a look at this CityPaper article. It's about the church at the end of my street and their suburban parishioners' attempts to block restaurants, bars, or seemingly any other businesses from moving into the empty neighborhood buildings that currently serve as toilets for the homeless — and little else.

UPDATE: Added the link. I'm dumb.