Steel can be hot.

Sometimes you just have to laugh. I found a website for a company that sells steel buildings. Usually these types of things are used for storage of large equipment. Cars, planes, boats, etc. Scrolling through the pictures of things the company believes their structures could be used for, I came across pictures of classrooms and workshops where there's an adult teaching quite a few kids. Why did it make me laugh? Mostly because I can't imagine that heating or air conditioning would work very well in a steel building. So it would be freezing cold in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer. These types of buildings are used for storage because equipment can usually handle temperatures that the human body cannot.

Then again, maybe there some trick to these buildings that I don't know about.

Procrastination takes over

I should be trying to find a new summer look for the website. Instead, I find myself drawn to m5 extreme reviews. Why am I so intrigued by things like this? Most people would just shrug and go about their business. Not me. I delve into the websites trying to find what makes them so interesting for other people. I need a new hobby....

Dresden Files

My husband has been listening to the audiobooks of the Dresden series of books. Whenever we travel together, he'll put on a book for me to "read." They are quite funny. One of the books we recently listened to had a war between the different factions of fairies. Fairies, in this world, are weak against steel. Dresden equipped some pixies with utility knives. Since the pixies were holding the plastic casing, they didn't get harmed by the metal. When they cut one of the fairies with the blade though..... The books are read by James Marsters, also known as Spike on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He is really good. If you get a chance to listen to the books, do it. You won't regret it.

Christmas Cards in June?

Would you believe that we are already getting catalogs for holiday cards? Who buys their holiday cards this far in advance? Everyone I know would lose them by the time Christmas came around! I think that the card companies should send around the holiday catalogs around September. The beginning of the year should be focused on a different holiday...like Independence Day or something. That would make much more sense.

I am not all that sporty

Dance season is now over. We had recital yesterday, which means we are done until September. I keep thinking of other hobbies I'd like to revisit. Back in high school, I used to do a bit of archery and I enjoyed it a lot. Unfortunately, archery equipment tends to be pretty expensive so I haven't had a chance to get back into the sport. My husband has shown an interest in trying it though. Perhaps I could take another look at it this summer as something we could do together. Date night archery style!

JDorama review: Liar Game

Title: Liar Game Broadcast dates: 4/14/07 - 6/23/07 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: psychological thriller Cast: Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota Plot: Kanzaki Nao (Toda) is idiotically honest. She unwittingly finds herself entrapped in the Liar Game, where the goal is to deceive your opponents out of their money. If she does not win, she will end up deeply in debt. She turns to Akiyama (Matsuda), a swindler recently released from prison. Together, they fight through each level of the game. What is good: Matsuda Shota is awesome. What is bad: The final episode is two and a half hours long. Letter rating: A

I absolutely loved this show, up until the final episode. Toda's acting as the naive Kanzaki was adorable. She really made you believe that the world would be a better place if everyone was honest with each other. Meanwhile, Matsuda was able to bring forth both the cynical and caring sides of Akiyama. The two of them got me hooked way faster than the plotline, which isn't awful but can get a little tedious at times.

The annoying part was that the final episode was so long. They recapped the entire series and added little snippets of what some of the off-screen characters were doing at the time. The additions made the long episode bearable but I don't think we really needed an entire recap of each level of the game. I wanted to fast forward through most of it but I was afraid I would miss an important piece of information.

In the end, that final episode didn't ruin the whole series for me. Not only did I enjoy it immensely, I am anxiously waiting to watch the second season. I hope it doesn't let me down.

Delayed Favorite Friday

We're running some webinars at work today so, alas, we are all banned from streaming. That means that today's Favorite Friday will have to wait until I get home tonight. Also, I should be finally finishing up Liar's Game this afternoon. If all goes as planning, there will be a brand spankin' new review on Monday. I know I keep promising you new reviews and not delivering. I apologize. Feel free to beat me soundly with your geeky audio and video cables....just not the hard metal parts please!

Now to try to sleep....

I hate when I get thoughts stuck in my head right before bedtime. There was a commercial on television for ATV Wheels or something. I don't understand the attraction of riding on ATVs. Especially since a lot of people get hurt very badly or killed on them. Is it really worth your life to drive a rather heavy vehicle very fast? I don't get it!

Binoculars are cool

I don't think I've ever owned a good pair of binoculars. A pair of steiner binoculars would have been cool to have when we were at the beach a few years ago. My daughter could have looked out at the dolphins and the boats. I don't think we're planning on going to the beach again any time soon but maybe I'll buy a pair just to have around. Maybe she'd like to use them to look at the hot air balloons in the sky.

Movie review: Green Lantern

My husband and I got the chance to go to a screening of Green Lantern last night. Unfortunately, we had absolutely terrible seats. (We were the second row from the front on the left side of the screen.) As a result, the 3D effects were completely lost on us. Luckily, that didn't effect my enjoyment of the film.

For those of you that know nothing about Green Lantern, here is your Cliffs Notes version. Hal Jordan is an irresponsible test pilot. He comes across a dying alien that gives him a ring that allows him to harness the green power of will. The enemy is the yellow power of fear. Hal needs to come to terms with his fear in order for him to save the Earth and become a member of the Green Lantern Corps.

Ryan Reynolds did an amazing job as Hal. It's almost like Reynolds was made to play superhero roles. This time around, he has some pretty good writing to back up his acting skills. Blake Lively played the love interest, Carol Ferris. She was OK but everything she said felt really forced and unnatural. I think my favorite character was Hal's best friend, Thomas, played by Taika Waititi. Not only does he have some of the best lines, the two actors make it look like they have been best friends behind the scenes for years.

I wish I could comment more on the graphics of the film. We do plan on seeing it again at some point though. Maybe then I'll be able to ooh and ahh. Until then, you should see it yourself. There are even a few hints to some other DC characters in there! See if you can spot them.