Movie Review: The King of Kong

It has been a long time since I did a review and this one will probably be on the short side. That said, I watched a movie that many (all) of you have never heard of. The full title is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. It is a documentary that is like no other. Its appeal is limited in scope to me, the kid in Blockbuster who said it was great at the checkout line, and possibly Jeremy.

Given the small audience, I am suprised at how good this movie is. At the end, I was left wondering. If this movie is a fully true and real honest-to-goodness documentary, I am amazed at how "human" hard-core retro gamers are. If it was a spoof, I am fully impressed at the acting of the no-name characters. Given the fact that all the actors in the movie are portraying "himself", I have to believe this is real.

The movie tells the story of the fall of the high score record in Donkey Kong set in 1982 by some guy named Billy Mitchell. The movie portreys the subculture that still surrounds classic 80s era video games. It was amazing to see all those images of my past still in full swing in 2008. The haircuts, the t-shirts, and the 4-bit video was all spot-on.

If you want a trip down memory lane, watch this movie. If you are Jeremy's parents and/or wife and want to understand him and others like him, watch this movie. If you have a deep fascination with sociology or anthropology, watch this movie.

Recreation: Five Fast Miles

I'm supposed to go run five miles today with two intervals of one mile each. That means 1.25 miles warm-up and 1.25 miles of cool-down. I never liked the concept of warm-up and cool-down. It seems to blow away necessary fuel, thereby reducing the amount of work one is able to do. I know the intention of it is to get blood flowing where it needs to go, when it needs to go there. Also, with cool-down, there is some risk of fainting if you stop dead in your tracks from a hard run. In addition, training with warm-ups and cool-downs will eventually build one's stamina so that it is completely normal and doable.

I guess, warm-ups and cool-downs kindof have a point, but so do I. My point is the fact that it is 6:30 a.m. and really foggy and I can't seem to motivate myself to go back upstairs, put on my gear and get out the door for five fast miles.

Recreation: Not so bad

After last week's abysmal run, today's run wasn't so bad. Actually, I almost might call it good. My legs felt like jelly for the last half mile and I had to walk twice. Other than that, though, it was pretty good. The training plan called for me to repeat last week's six mile run, which is good. I don't think I could have done seven miles today. Actually, I don't know how I will be able to do seven miles next weekend, but that is something I don't have to think about for another week.

Random Thoughts: Not tired

I had a really broken sleep last night. I did something I haven't done in over a year. I woke up smack in the middle of the night. About 2 a.m., I woke up and couldn't fall back asleep until after 3. Considering I usually wake up at 4, that is right in the middle of what should be a nice deep sleep. Whatever woke me up, my brain wouldn't let me fall back asleep. All things considered, though, I am wide awake today. I haven't even needed much caffeine.

Oh, on that note, I decided that I am giving up caffeinated soda, more or less. It's nothing special, I just don't want to throw money into an addictive habit. I don't gamble. I don't do illicit drugs. I don't really even drink more than occasionally. That said, I am hooked on soda... for now. Soon I will be free of that habit too. I think I might replace it with tea, though. That stuff is great!

Recreation: Worst run ever

I know they can't all be great. I know sometimes, they're downright bad. Today my run was bad. No... Not bad... Abysmally terrible. It was, by far, the worst run I have ever had in my entire life.

The first runs I ever did were pretty bad. The terrible feelings about not being able to even run continuously for half a mile were almost overwhelming. This run was worse.

The run I had this past winter where I decided to increase my mileage was really bad. It was changing between freezing rain and slushy snow with high winds. My knee decided to lock up almost precisely half way through a 6 mile run. After a moderate amount of stretching, I was able to walk again, intermixed with some running and further knee lock-ups. Today's run was much worse... Much, much worse.

I ran and walked a grand total of 1:05:02 to cover a huge distance of 6 miles. Hopefully, next weekend will be better.

Random Thougts: What's new with you?

Nothing much new here, except the world is coming crashing down around on top of me. Other than that, though, I'm great. What's new with you?

Entertainment: Dr. Horrible

I have seen quite possibly the most unexpected, most hilarious thing ever. It is called Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. If you have never heard of it, that isn't suprising. It is, at this time, an internet-only miniseries from Joss Whedon. It is broken into three parts which are being posted July 15th, 17th and 19th. At midnight on July 20th, they go offline. If you want to watch them, don't delay. If you choose to watch, you won't regret it. If you choose to ignore my advice... Well, actually, that's fine with me too. You can choose your actions and they in no way affect me, good or bad. Seriously, though, you should really give take a look.