Quentin Tarantino's new film Kill Bill, promoted by studio Miramax as "The 4th film by Quentin Tarantino," has released a teaser trailer that is available to download from who else but Apple. There is also an official Flash-only website for the film that does not contain much content at this time.

I cannot say that the teaser really got me excited about the film, but I have to give Quentin Tarantino some leeway since he is Quentin Tarantino and has yet to lead me up the garden path.

As much as I generally steer away from such materials, Jean-François Allaire has a (non-spoiler) script review posted at TNMC that rekindles my interest a bit. My only fear is that this homage to traditional Kung-Fu will be all too reminiscent of the recent trendy Asian-themed film, which not to say I do not enjoy, but does not really meld with the Tarantino style as far as I am concerned. Again, I wait for him to prove me wrong. As it stands, a piece of alleged trivia listed in the IMDb page for the movie indicates Tarantino "forbade the use of digital effects and 'professional' gags and squibs" for a more tralatitious look and feel. That at least improves my confidence in the film.

Currently the only release date indicated is Fall 2003, so we will have to wait a bit before we have the opportunity to see if this film can prove itself worthy of the tradition and legacy already established. And I will give it that chance, even sans the guns and drugs we look to expect from arguably one of the finest and most influential directors of film in the 90's.

I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has been visiting the site and participating in the Forum over the past year and some. It is because things around here have been gaining popularity I decided to give the site the face-lift it needed.

And that is what you see now. This area will act in a blog or journal capacity, featuring my writing on whatever is on my mind. Forum members and non-members alike may comment on posts here (simultaneously fed from the "One Last Breath" section in the Forum).

The right column of content windows are home to the main menu ("Welcome"), a list of active Forum threads ("Forum"), information on a product I am currently enjoying ("Fixation"), links to other sites I enjoy ("Exit Piazza"), a section for site donations and the requisite wish list ("Benefaction") and finally, a miscellaneous afterthought containing page translations and a word of the day ("Salmagundi").

I have spent a fair amount of time making sure all the newly written code and graphics are working and looking as they should. Of course, sometimes things get overlooked, so please drop me a line at david @ mountsutro.org should you see anything out of order.

Thank you again to everyone who visits and Happy New Year!

I am really sick and tired of retailers pulling items from their shelves because of customer feedback on the item. Now, mind you, I am not referring to recalls or defective products being removed from commercial circulation. Just items, such as the following, which "caused some customers concern."

Barbie's pregnant pal pulled from shelves

I saw a programme last week on television about toys being sold this years whose suitability for children was questionable. I am god damn tired of consumer watch groups telling me what is suitable or not for my children.

Now, while I may agree with some of the recommendations they make, why take that decision away from the parent. When a parent goes into a retail store, they are not blinded by the product. They can clearly see what their child has requested and then decide for themselves whether they feel it is a suitable product for their children.

Some of the toys mentioned in the show were WWE action figures with rather large breasts, an Austin Powers action figure with a defined crotch, a lingerie Barbie and an action figure play-set depicting a bombed-out house. The toy manufactures were quick to point out the collectible nature of certain products. The watch group quipped back immediately on how the products are labeled "for ages * and up" and how they disagreed with those assessments.

A television programme, motion picture or video game may not be apparently overt on what content it will feature, therefore a rating system there is at least partially understandable. But do you need the box to tell you, a parent, whether "Hooker Barbie" is suitable for your three-year old or not?

Inspired from the non-bomb scare, I decided that when I never finally get a little musical group together (even if for one fucking evening), I would like to be called "The Industrial Magnets."

I got a fur up my ass tonight and made the following, basically a CD album cover for the non-existent band. Let me know what you think (keeping mindful it is a scaled-down version of the original 700k Photoshop file).

[ view image ]

Wednesday, 16 October 2002: Florida Power's contractors find their way to my house. They have been doing some work in the neighbourhood for a good month already and I guess it was just our turn. We had noticed a few days prior that little red flags appeared in our backyard, an obvious sign of the pending doom work.

I got home from work around 1700 on that Wednesday to find I could not open the garage door. It made sense fairly quickly that the power was off due to the work. It would have been nice had they given some warning as to what was going to go on. At this point, we knew nothing of what they were really doing, but it looked like they were installing some cable of some sort.

So I am sitting on the couch in front of the window I opened because it is very hot in the house and a nice breeze was now blowing through. The power clicked on and off a few times. I walked outside and asked one of the workers about how long he expected the power to remain off. He replied an hour or so. I went back inside and started making telephone calls, because I had nothing better to do. Then the power came back on again and seemed to be staying on. I went into the kitchen and noticed the stove clock was on, but seemed more dim than usual. I turned on a lamp and saw the same thing. But then it got really bright, much more bright than usual. I thought for a moment and decided to turn off the power to the house at the breaker because this under-volt and surging is not good for appliances and electronic equipment.

Just about that time, a worker came to the door and asked me to turn the breakers off. I laughed and said I was just about to and explained why. He said he needed me to do it because when they were installing the main line behind the house, there was an accident that severely damaged the interface between my house and the main line. He needed the breaker to be off to conduct repairs. Fifteen minutes pass and he says the work is complete and I can restore the power to the house. The workers all piled up in their trucks and left while I went and turned on the breakers.

I returned to the kitchen and saw the stove clock was running at its normal brightness. I walked to the microwave and attempted to set the clock, but no display would come up. Hmm, curious. I double-checked to see it was plugged in and then verified the outlet itself was functioning. The microwave was unresponsive. Oh, shit. I immediately figured out what was going on and started checking out the other appliances and equipment in the house. Here is a list of the things that no longer worked:

• Kitchen > Microwave
• Master Bedroom > Television
• Master Bedroom > Lamp (bulb was, no joke, exploded when I found it)
• My Room > Television
• My Room > VCR
• My Room > DVD Player
• My Room > Flatbed Scanner
• My Room > External CD-Writer
• My Room > Stereo System
• Den > Television
• Den > VCR
• Den > Stereo

F U C K !!!

Well, after many telephone calls and a conversation with the workers, we were able to conclude that the company (Central Locating Service) in charge of putting those little flags in the yard marking existing cables screwed up. When the contractors came in to lay the new power cable, they ran their excavation device into our line, causing a massive surge of power through the house. Enough to blow-up a light bulb and destroy all the other equipment above.

We should get the check this week for the replacement of these items. Of course, we do not get the full value, but rather a depreciated value since only a few of the items were new. The others were a few years older and therefore had a percentage taken away from their value (per Florida law).

I think I might keep the money and use it on other badly needed things rather than replace my equipment right away. The approximate $800.00 I will be getting could really help me out right now. But, you know, that said, I would just rather have my stuff back the way it was before. Such is life, I suppose. So, as I write this, I sit in silence because my computer is the only electronic device I own now. How depressing.

"The misadventures of a fast-food restaurant working sponge who lives under the sea."

Ok, can someone tell me what the hell the deal with this SpongeBob SquarePants? I would normally say that perhaps it is simply due to my age that I do not understand these colourful characters, but it would seem that those that are my age and older also appreciate this programme.

I am not necessarily saying that the show is soporiferous, as I have watched a few episodes and found some of it funny. Nevertheless, the recent cult status that it has taken on does puzzle me. I mean, exactly where does poor SpongeBob and his cohorts fit in between the Drowning Pool albums, glitter lipstick, labret studs and t-shirts that read, "Sorry girls, I suck cock" at the local Hot Topic store?

Perhaps I am simply underestimating the societal tendency to revert back to previously enjoyed experiences. For the teenage and college crowd, I suppose it might just be a simple programme to sit back and enjoy while remembering waking up extra early on a Saturday morning to catch the animated cartoons whilst eating a bowl of sugary cereal and wearing the sleeping fare from the night prior until noon.

Is it that simple? Am I making more of this than I should? But really, I do have a problem accepting the fact that these early teens, who wish nothing of conformity (and obtain it by being like everyone else trying not to be like everyone else) wearing alternative clothing, getting things pierced and admitting to their friends and classmates they occasionally, regularly or continually have sexual relations with a partner of the same sex would or could come together with such a show of love towards these characters. I would think it would be a bad thing in their non-conformist minds to admit that they were actually one and the same with people their age and are capable of loving and enjoying something fluffy and happy. We all know damn well that each and every one of these Korn quoting, baggy pant and eyeliner wearing self-titled 'punks' would cry at the drop of a hat if only they would let themselves. And most of them probably do, but in extreme private. They are just putting up a mask, like skinning your Winamp player; it still does the same things pretty much, but it just looks a lot different. So what is it about SpongeBob that makes him different?

My only final comment is that I was pleased to see Ernest Borgnine dubbing the voice for the character "Mermaid Man." I decided to put up a Gattaca avatar and title in his honour.

Your comments and ideas on this are anticipated.