Mission Accomplished

I originally began this blog in September 2006, but moved it in at the very start of 2008 when I realized that my original blog, created as part of my MySpace account, didn't have a lot of the features of a full fledged blog, such as simple search or date navigation features. (Although the site has undergone some changes in an effort to keep pace with Facebook, the changes at the blog were merely cosmetic and didn't really address the serious functionality issues.)

After I moved, however, I looked into importing the previous blogs into the new site for the sake of posterity. It turned out that, unlike Blogger which I use for this blog, the MySpace blog didn't have any sort of basic export function that would allow me to easily bring over the old entries—yet another confirmation that I had made the right decision to move. After doing a lot of research, I found that the best way to import the old blog was to cut and past each entry one at a time.

Well, mission accomplished—if you look at the Blog Archive at right that allows you to navigate my older blogs by month and year, you'll see that my 2006 and 2007 blogs are now available at this site. It really wasn't too onerous, just a bit labor intensive—but I'm glad it's done! (In the meantime, I discovered that the re-direct link at my MySpace site is blocked—coincidence?

Entertainment Roundup for 2010

Happy new year!!

Below is my annual list of movies, stage shows, books, and graphic novels I've taken in over the past year. The usual caveats apply: as a busy family guy, I don't get a chance much to see first run movies.

With that said, I'd say the highlights for me this past year among films in no particular order were Le Concert (pictured at right), How to Train Your Dragon, OSS 117: Lost in Rio (trailer embedded below; the film is available for streaming at Netflix), Bottle Shock, Young Victoria, Social Network, Tangled , The King's Speech, and The Damned United. (For just plain weirdness, I'd add the 1933 film, Gabriel Over the White House, that I caught on a classic movie channel.)

Among the stage shows I saw, highlights were "The 39 Steps," the Lincoln Center Production of "South Pacific," "Promises, Promises," and "Holiday Broadway."



FILMS
Sherlock Holmes (1/2/10)
No Highway in the Sky - TCM (1/5/10)
To Be or Not To Be - Netflix (1/6/10)
Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 8
Big Fan - Netflix (1/15/10)
Downhill Racer - DVD (1/22/10)
Easy Virtue - DVD (1/24/10)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2/26/10)
Cradle Will Rock - Netflix (03/11/10)
The Wrong Guy - DVD (03/14/10)
How to Train Your Dragon (03/27/10)
Hot Tub Time Machine (04/03/10)
How to Train Your Dragon (4/6/10)
Waking Sleeping Beauty (4/8/10)
Gabriel Over the White House - TCM (4/8/10)
In the Loop - DVD (4/9/10)
Foreign Correspondent - Netflix (4/9/10)
Ship of Fools - TCM (4/10/10)
Secret of Kells (4/11/10)
OSS 117: Lost in Rio (5/12/10)
Picnic - TCM (05/15/10)
Ransom - TCM (05/19/10)
Shrek Forever After 3D (05/31/10)
Toy Story 3D (06/20/10)
Just Friends - cable (06/26/10)
Despicable Me 3D (07/21/10)
The Other Guys (08/13/10)
Le Concert (08/16/10)
Megamind (11/11/10)
Billy Elliot - Netflix streaming (11/20/10)
White on Rice - Netflix streaming (11/22/10)
Good Dick - Netflix streaming (11/22/10)
Sherlock (eps 1 & 2) - PBS website
Bottle Shock - Netflix streaming (12/4/10)
Young Victoria - Neflix streaming (12/5/10)
Social Network
Tangled (12/12/10)
The King's Speech (12/28/10)
The Damned United - Netflix streaming (12/29/10)

THEATRE/STAGE
Guys and Dolls - Ahmanson (1/16/10)
The 39 Steps - Ahmanson (5/14/10)
South Pacific - Ahmanson (5/28/10)
Promises, Promises - Broadway Theatre (7/11/10)
Peter Pan 360 - Orange County Performing Arts Center (10/31/10)
Holiday Broadway - Geffen Playhouse(11/17/10)

CONCERTS
Doc Severinson - VPAC (10/15/10)
Moscow State Symphony Orchestra - VPAC (11/1/10)

GRAPHIC NOVELS
Human Target: Chance Meetings (2/22/10)
Power & Glory (05/4/10)
Kick-Ass (05/05/10)
BPRP 1946 (10/10/10)

BOOKS
Patriot Battles by Michael Stephenson
Michael Palin Diaries: 1969-79 (08/06/10)
So You Wanna Be a Rock and Roll Star by Jason Slichter (08/12/10)

SPORTS
UCLA v. Cal State Northridge (11/12/10)