At times, taking a voyeuristic look at a wealthy and twisted family can be a terrifying but hypnotic experience; you don’t want to look, but you cannot turn away.  Savage Grace, the new film applying that microscope to the wealthy Baekeland family – and the eventual murder of wife Barbara (Julianne Moore) by her son – carries with it tremendous promise.  But its attempt to remain detached from the otherworldly fog that hovers over the family keeps the viewer completely detached as well.  And the movie suffers for that.

Barbara is a former department store clerk who has married into ...

<< MORE >>

I've released the July 2008 issue of Eternal Sunshine.  This issue contains the usual foolishness, personal writing, Diplomacy word games, classic press, book and movie reviews, and all the other crap you've come to expect.  You can see get the pdf version in the Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/

or you can get either the pdf or html version at my web site:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

Happy stabbing!
...<< MORE >>

During the drive we took to prison on the morning I was surrender, my father suggested to me that in some ways I might find my time as an inmate interesting.  “It will probably be like my time in Basic Training during the Korean War,” he told me.  “You’ll meet some very unusual and different people.”

He was right about that.  I met some true characters in prison.  Some were absolute scumbags who would steal from their best friends.  Some were really nice guys.  Most, as you’d expect, fell somewhere in between.  But a select group was truly unforgettable.  I’ve ...

<< MORE >>

Our favorite local theater had a free screening of Baghead last night, which my wife and I decided to attend at the last minute.  We were both pleasantly surprised to enjoy a decent, mildy scary, and occasionally funny film by the Duplass brothers (who did Puffy Chair, which we haven't seen). 


Baghead centers around four friends in Los Angeles.  Stuck in the fringe section of Hollywood, as extras in low-budget films which are shown at places like the fictional "Los Angeles Underground Film Festival", the pals (Matt, Chad, Michelle, and Catherine) decide to spend a weekend at Matt's uncle's cabin ...<< MORE >>

Sorry to have been so silent the last week or so.  Work has taken a lot of extra time, and there simply hasn't been that much to write about here.  We haven't seen a movie since The Counterfeiters, and none of the big releases do anything for us at all.  Sex and the City?  Kung-Fu Panda?  Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Wheelchair?  Adam Sander?  No thanks.  There have been a couple of hidden gems we wanted to see, but they seem to disappear in a week, and if we haven't made our way to the theater by then ...<< MORE >>

I've uploaded the new issue of Eternal Sunshine (#17, the June 2008 issue) to the file library in the Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/

as well as made it available in both pdf and html format in the Diplomacy section of my website at:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

The issue contains letters, movie and book reviews, part two of "My First Day", Spring 1902 results for Wouldn't it Be Nice, the latest By Popular Demand and By Popular Opinion results, and much more. Check it out!
...<< MORE >>

This German film is based at least partially on true circumstances.  During the late stages of World War II, Nazi Germany seizes upon a plan to print tremendous quantities of counterfeit British Pounds and U.S. Dollars, in an effort both to finance their own war efforts and to cripple the economies of the opposition. 
At the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, a group of hand-picked Jews is segregated from the general population to work on “Operation Bernhard.”  Among them is Salomon Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics), regarded as one of the greatest counterfeiters of his time.  The film explores the motivations and desires of ...<< MORE >>

The rest of my first day was a lonely game of Follow the Leader.  Nobody knows who you are, but everybody knows you’re a new arrival because of how you’re dressed.  The only people wearing the shoes and off-color clothes like the ones I had are new inmates, or inmates who were just released from “the hole”…and obviously, they’re known by everyone.  So in a way, you’re wearing a sign around your neck identifying you as a newcomer (unless you’ve been transferred, in which case somebody in the new facility has heard about you in advance through the grapevine).  Being ...

<< MORE >>

Back in the general population, I met my bunkmate and tried to keep to myself while I waited for dinner.  A few inmates made it a point to say hello.  One very friendly guy named Jorge kept telling me how quickly my time will go.  “It’s crazy!” he kept telling me, with a big smile on his face.  “It’s crazy!”  He was also the first inmate who asked me a question which I would hear repeated over and over again until my time as an inmate was finally completed:

“What’s your out date?”

I didn’t know what that meant, and ...

<< MORE >>

Heather and I went to see a play at the Bath House in Dallas on Saturday.  The play is called Freakshow, written by Carson Kreitzer.  It deals with the life of a travelling freakshow, and some of the troupe members.  It also touches on reasons why those shows no longer exist.

The show was pretty good, and a few members of the cast were excellent.  In particular I want to single out Morgana Shaw as Amalia (the woman with no arms and no legs), Lulu Ward as Judith (the Dog-Faced Girl), and Kent Williams as Mr. Flip (the Ringmaster and owner).  ...<< MORE >>

When a woman is eating dinner and a tiny dot from a broccoli floret falls on her chest, it is probably not a great idea to wipe it off for her and then pretend it was a booger.

I mean, it's FUNNY...but it's not a great idea just the same. ...<< MORE >>

I've uploaded the new issue of Eternal Sunshine to the file library in the Eternal Sunshine Yahoo group:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/eternal_sunshine_diplomacy/

as well as made it available in both pdf and html format in the Diplomacy
section of my website at:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

The issue contains letters, movie and book reviews, part one of "My First Day", Winter 1901 results for Wouldn't it Be Nice, the latest By Popular Demand and By Popular Opinion results, and much more. Check it out!
...<< MORE >>

We finally got our CD's of the wedding photos, and I've begun to add them 8 at a time to the Whining Kent Pigs website.  So if you want to see some of the Halloween fun, along with the hideous groom and beautiful bride, you can do so at:

www.whiningkentpigs.com

Just look for the links in the navigation bar at the left; there are two pages of photos so far, with many more to come.

Have a nice day, you stinking pigs! ...<< MORE >>

I wandered up a path to another building, where I found some inmates who directed me to the Unit Manager’s office.  The prison seemed to be rather laid-back compared to what I had expected.  There were four or five inmates sitting at a metal picnic table, smoking cigarettes, and a few were off in the corner playing cards.  The temperature was a bit chilly to me, especially as I’d just spent the last 9 years living in Texas; the worn clothing I’d been given wasn’t helping matters either.  So I hurried inside to warm up and find this Unit Manager’s ...

<< MORE >>

Phrases They Never Warned That You Might Hear After You Got Married

Part One

1.  "I forgot that in a ballet they don't talk."

2. "I have something in my butt.  Help me get it out."

...<< MORE >>

Just a quick note to let you know we finally got the printed copies of the wedding photos, and the digital ones should arrive next week.  We'll post a number of them here to the blog and to the web site at

www.whiningkentpigs.com

So be quiet back there or Mom will send you to your room, you stinking pigs!

PS - The next part of "My First Day" will be posted sometime in the next week...I hope... ...<< MORE >>

Does anybody have a copy of the latest Guiness Book handy?  Do me a favor and check to see if there is a listing for "Grumpiest Woman in the Universe."  It might also be under "Whiniest Woman in the Universe."  Let me know, because I have a candidate that can beat anybody else for the title.... ...<< MORE >>

Once I stepped from the ordinary parking lot into the cold, brick building which contained the “R&D” department, I was officially a Federal inmate.  I believe R&D stands for Reception and Diagnostics, but in effect in is the department which handles the initial intake, release, and transfer of inmates.  In some facilities this can be a very complicated process, including housing an inmate in a segregated facility for up to 30 days as a form of “quarantine”.  Fortunately for me, the process at Allenwood was generally much simpler.

The two R&D officers who were there to process me could have ...

<< MORE >>

Diplomacy World #101, the Spring 2008 Issue, has just been released!  This issue has a major (but not exclusively)

Diplomacy variant focus.  Among the numerous articles in DW #101, you'll find:

* An interview with Conrad von Metzke
* A review of the new Avalon Hill Diplomacy set
* Jack McHugh on Modern Diplomacy
* Chris Dziedzic on 1900
* An Intimate Dip Series Replay
* The winners of the latest Diplomacy World Writing Contest
* Jim O'Kelley on the 2008 Grand Prix
* The return of Pontevedria, a Game Opening Service, by W. Andrew York
* New humor by Rod Walker
* Two reports on WACCon 2008
* ...

<< MORE >>

I choose to ignore April Fools Day.  Why lie and play jokes on people when they expect it?  So instead, I screw with people the other 364 days of the year (I usually take February 29th off).
...<< MORE >>

Just wanted to mention that I've added a few new Whining Kent Pig items to the Cafepress selection.  And we continue to add Helpful Kitty stuff all the time.  You can check it out at:

www.cafepress.com/helpfulkitty

The Whining Kent Pigs stuff has its own section - just click on the Log Cabin picture to see that. 

More is on the way soon!  Tell your friends to buy something for you, so you can proudly wear official Whining Kent Pigs clothes or drink your coffee from a Whining Kent Pigs mug...

"Put a little more cream in this before I get sick, would ya?  ...<< MORE >>

A quick note: I've just uploaded Eternal Sunshine #15, my Diplomacy
subzine, to my web site. This issue includes the usual foolishness, such as:

"Wouldn't It Be Nice?" Diplomacy Fall 1901 Results - including tremendous old-style press

By Popular Opinion and By Popular Demand

Book and Movie Reviews

Cinematic Catacombs

and more stuff...

If you want to see the pdf or html version, you can do so from the Diplomacy section of my website at:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

See ya! Happy stabbing!

...<< MORE >>

Naomi Watts and Tim Roth star in this remake of Michael Haneke’s 1997 Austrian-language version.  Haneke is at the helm again, in a tale of a wealthy family at their vacation home being held captive and terrorized by two young adults who seem determined to kill them.  It’s hard for me to go into more detail without giving portions of the plot away.  But I found the entire process to be somewhat generic and obvious.  There are some attempts by Haneke to comment on the violent world we live in, and on the way some believe a generation raised on ...<< MORE >>

A simple rule to learn and remember.  It won't solve any problems, but it will make it easier to plan your actions (and reactions):

When a woman gets her hair done, however she feels about it when she comes home will be the exact opposite of how she feels about it a week later. 

If she comes home crying, take comfort in the knowledge that within a week she'll decide she loves it after all.

But if she comes home smiling and happy, try to schedule a a business trip or in-patient hospital surgery for a week later, so you can avoid ...<< MORE >>

You can now view and purchase Toby the Helpful Kitty merchendise!  See what's available at:

www.cafepress.com/helpfulkitty

We'll also be adding other items in the near future.  Meanwhile, watch for new developments, including an upcoming Toby blog, at

www.helpfulkitty.com
...<< MORE >>

Goodbye Tigger - A Good Friend and a Great Cat
1987 - 2008
...

<< MORE >>

After my normal guilty pleasure of watching "Cheaters", the next show to come on the same channel is "FlavaTV".  Usually, the moment the frist video cranks up, Heather is yelling at me to turn it off.  So, of course, I like to leave it on until she does so, just to watch her get irritated.

Last night, though, when it came on, Heather sat quietly watching the screen for a good two minutes.  Staring at all the rappers and dancers bouncing and shaking, I could see she was actually starting to get a touch of motion sickness from the camera jiggles.  ...<< MORE >>

For Christmas, one of the things I bought Heather was the just-released DVD set of the complete “My So-Called Life.”  If you’re unfamiliar with it, the series was a 1980’s-era drama starring a young Claire Danes as a 15-year-old High School student, trying to make it through a difficult age.  Highly regarded by those who watched it, the series did not last very long.  I suppose a semi-accurate portrayal of teenage life isn’t particularly escapist, which most successful television seems to be.  Besides, the show lacked some of the truly dark and achingly cruel truth of, say, “Welcome to the ...

<< MORE >>

<< MORE >>

I've just posted the pdf and html versions of Eternal Sunshine to my web site.  This is my Diplomacy subzine, which contains (among other things):

• 
  
• Turn 1 results of By Popular Demand
• 
  
• Spring 1901 results of our first Diplomacy game
• 
  
• Movie reviews
• 
  
• Book reviews
• 
  
• A new story
• 
  
• and other foolishness.

Check it out at www.whiningkentpigs.com/dw/

Happy stabbing!

...<< MORE >>

...<< MORE >>

<< MORE >>

Digging through my storage unit Thursday night, I stumbled across by old cassette versions of "Blaze of Glory" and "Will Power" by Joe Jackson: two collections by the same artist, yet so utterfly different.  Jackson can shine in countless genres, and in almost every case his music bleeds honesty and emotion, but in both upfront and subtle ways.

"Rain" is his new collection, the first studio album by Jackson since the awesome "Volume 4" of 2003 which reunited the original quartet which burst on the scene with "Look Sharp" and singles like "Is She Really Going Out With Him."  As ...

<< MORE >>

The next morning I took my last shower at home and tried to suppress the building anxiety I was feeling.  Fortunately, the same sensation of numbness was also present, which made it easier to move forward, accept my fate, and do what had to be done without panic.  My father tried to put a positive spin on this experience, suggesting I do whatever I could to further my education while incarcerated.

“Get yourself a PEL grant, earn a college degree,” he told me.  “And try to behave yourself.  I bet it won’t be that different than my time at basic ...

<< MORE >>

I went to Blockbuster tonight with the intention of renting The Stepfather (the original) which Heather had never seen.  They didn't have it, so I spent some time walking along the permeter wall, gazing at the countless TERRIBLE movies which were out of stock.  What is the world coming to?  Who are the forty people who rented copies of "I Think I Love My Wife"?

But as I stood in line to buy a few used DVDs (Zodiac, Little Children, Seven) I happened to glance at the people in front of and behind me in line.

I couldn't see the title held ...<< MORE >>

Arriving at long last in New York’s Penn Station, I took the subway down to the Staten Island Ferry terminal and, after calling my Dad to let him know I had arrived, I boarded the next ferry and found him waiting for me. 

This was the first time I’d seen my Dad in his car – a little Hyundai Accent.  Until he’d bought this, his Parkinson’s and severe Diabetes had greatly limited his mobility.  But with the Hyundai, he had achieved a small degree of freedom.  Walking was still a real ordeal for him; he would shuffle along like ...

<< MORE >>

By now there is very little chance that you’ve managed to avoid hearing about this film.  Entertainment Weekly just put it on their cover, calling it the “Little Indie That Could.”   The way the movie (and writer Diablo Cody) have become media darlings had, as usual, made me hesitant to see it.  But figuring the theaters would be rather empty while the Super Bowl was on (which we taped to watch later), and considering that there was nothing else out which we were interested in, Heather and I made our way to the local AMC to check it out.

At ...

<< MORE >>

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

So much for the 12-point spread.  So much for Spygate and Brady and Randy Moss (and why the hell didn't they ever have Moss run a cross pattern)?

Giants are the CHAMPIONS!  Yee haw!

Tough luck Cowboys fans...your 13-3 record and your top seed and first round bye got you nothing but a Romo cameo in a Pepsi commercial.  Have a nice off season!
...<< MORE >>

The February issue of Eternal Sunshine, my Diplomacy subzine and home base of the Whining Kent Pig publishing empire, has just been released.  Included in this issue is a new gamestart for By Popular Demand, and openings in Diplomacy, Balkan Wars VI, and a 7X7 Gunboat Tournament...as well as the usual book and movie reviews and other foolishness.

You can see the issue in pdf or html format, as well as all prior issues, at:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

Happy stabbing!

 

...<< MORE >>

Train travel has a number of advantages over bus travel.  Traffic is a major factor, of course, as is comfort (the seats are generally bigger on trains, with more leg room).  But most important is the frequency of stops.  Anybody who has ridden Greyhound a long distance will understand what I mean.  When you’re stopping for fifteen minutes in tiny backwater towns, loading or unloading a single package or passenger while half the bus disappears for a smoking break, it is almost impossible to get any sleep.  On the other hand, the train moves at a gradual pace, slowly accelerating ...

<< MORE >>

This French film (with English subtitles) is the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, the editor of Elle Magazine who suffered a debilitating stroke and was left paralyzed, with no movement except for his left eye.  His mind still fully functioning, Jean-Do (played by Mathieu Amalric) remains trapped in this horrific prison of a body.  Unable to do anything, even to end his own miserable existence, he is forced to accept his fate and to try and find some way of (as an acquaintance tells him) “keeping his human portion alive.”

Nearly all of the film is shot from the perspective ...

<< MORE >>

I suppose it is just a sign of two people being more comfortable with each other, but as a relationship progresses you notice changes.  They aren't usually sudden; they morph from one stage to another slowly.  Maybe you don't feel so self-conscious walking out of the shower and into the bedroom with no clothes on.  Or she's not embarrassed to admit she will eat peanut butter out of the container with a spoon.

Still, on occasion you'll remember the way things used to be, and find yourself noticing the marked comparison with the current state of affairs.  Like, remember when you ...<< MORE >>

It was delicious this week, listening to the radio and hearing the commentators and Cowboy fans suffering from their team's demise.  America's team my ass.  "How could this team NOT make it to the Super Bowl" is the attitude they carried for the last month of the season.  Well, they found out - by being the first Top Seeded team to lose in their first playoff game since the league went to this system in 1990.

So, now I wonder if the Giants can do the unthinkable and beat Green Bay in the cold?  We'll have to wait and see, but ...<< MORE >>

I've meant to do more writing lately, and to continue (and finish) the Final Trip to Federal Guesthood story.  It shouldn't be that difficult as it really isn't very emotional - it was all a blur and a numb experience for me.  But I think a lot more of my energy went into compiling Diplomacy World #100 then I thought.

Meanwhile, I do have two other projects I want to deal with on top of everything else.  Long-term, I want to get busier on a screenplay adaptation of a book I've been asked to work on.  It is a HUGE book ...<< MORE >>

I know its probably hopeless, but MAYBE if we all band together and hope and pray and use universal energy, we can drive the Giants to beat the Cowboys today.  There is nothing as delicious as Dallas the morning after a Cowboys loss in a critical game.  Quiet, shell-shocked...but for a Cowboy hater like me, its sort of like enjoying a blanket of snow the morning after 8 inches fall, but before cars and people ave started to dirty the landscape.  Help! ...<< MORE >>

After months of exhausting work, the long-awaited 100th issue of Diplomacy World has finally been released. 

You can download the free pdf version directly from the Diplomacy World website at http://www.diplomacyworld.net

A tiny sampling of the articles included in this issue:

• 
  
• Interviews with Diplomacy creator Allan Calhamer, and Diplomacy World first Editor Dr. Walter Buchanan
• 
  
• News and an advertisement for the new Avalon Hill Diplomacy set, due out in March
• 
  
• Details on Diplomacy in Australia and South Africa
• 
  
• An article on combining your trip to World DipCon in 2008 with another convention.
• 
  
• Articles by long-time hobby members such ...

<< MORE >>

In her first film since The Slums of Beverly Hills, writer/director Tamara Jenkins has once again delved into the world of family, parents, and how both shape our lives.  On the back of a strong performance by Laura Linney and a typically-on target one from Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages succeeds in exposing the full canvas without forcing you to concentrate on the individual brushstrokes.  Like any fine work of art, those details are there if you want to become absorbed in them, but if not you can appreciate the creation as a piece by itself.

Linney and Hoffman are ...

<< MORE >>

Hope you all had a safe New Year's Day (and Eve).  We didn't get around to seeing a movie on Tuesday, so no new review for you.  This weekend we'll start to catch up.  Meanwhile I hope to most the next chapter of the Final Journey to Federal Guesthood in the next few days.  Take care. ...<< MORE >>

I despise flying.  Not only am I in a constant state of anxiety, waiting for the engines to fail or the inevitable plummet to the earth, but I make everyone around me nervous as a result.  I wasn’t always this way – I remember a few flights to Boston which I enjoyed – but ever since the first time I landed in Dallas in a thunderstorm, I’ve sworn off flying unless an emergency is involved.  And as far as I was concerned, going to prison was not an emergency! 

Instead, I booked a one-way ticket with Amtrak, from Dallas ...

<< MORE >>

Just a quick note to let you know that I've released issue #12 of Eternal Sunshine, my Diplomacy subzine.  It has openings for Diplomacy, Balkan Wars VI, and a Gunboat 7x7 Tourney, plus the latest results for By Popular Demand and By Popular Opinion...and all the usual foolishness.

You can access both the html and pdf versions at:

http://www.whiningkentpigs.com/DW/

Happy stabbing!

...<< MORE >>