I'm addicted

to the Sims 3! I waited so long but then all my willpower just crumpled. Watch my real social life go out the window as I sim out. But it's so fun for my perfectionist personality :)
The new game is easier to use than previous versions and that makes it more rewarding. Everything is a little smoother and more detailed. Your sims make friendships easier and it takes less to make them upset. They also have a much more instant goal/reward system that keeps things running smoothly.

They also changed the game so that you are really encouraged to make one household and just stick with it rather than changing your active characters constantly. I'm not a huge fan of this because one of my main joys with the game is making my own sims and then having them meet in the Sim World.

They also have "opportunities" where you are offered a challenge and if you complete it, then you get rewards. I like this because it keeps the game spicy. I also love the new "trait" system where you can give your Sims characteristics like workaholic, flirty, lucky, daredevil, artistic, natural cook, hopeless romantic etc. Then they have certain affinities and can learn faster. All in all, a better change than from the first to second version. Sims 3 makes things easier for the player while being just as challenging and absorbing.

Oscar contender: The Hurt Locker

I finally got The Hurt Locker through Netflix, after it had been labeled "very long wait" for a very long time. There was no way I would have watched this movie except for two things 1) it was directed by a woman and 2) it is nominated for best picture. I do not go for war movies. But I wanted to see what a war movie directed by a woman and considered one of the best pictures of the year would be like.

So, first of all, yes it is still a war movie. There are bombs and military garb, and sweaty men drinking whiskey and wrestling with each other. There's alpha dog behavior and testosterone. The movie is basically about a bomb squad in Iraq. Their leader dies and a new guy, William James, replaces him. William James is wild and heroic and inspires his followers. The most interesting aspect of the film is James' psychology. As the viewer, we can see that he is on the edge of something- sanity, maybe?

James bonds with a young boy who is later killed. There is a sequence with James running around Baghdad as a vigilante, a wannabe Batman searching in a city of "infidels" for someone to blame for his young friend's death. James becomes an impostor, a vulnerable outsider doing a dangerous job for unknown, unclear reasons. There is no Truth to found in this version of war.

For me, the clearest statement of the film was the last five minutes. We see James back in the states, utterly lost in the sterile aisles of a giant grocery store. He is unable to bond with his family. The distance between the two realities- one of war, one of homeland- feels immense and uncrossable. When James goes back to Iraq, you can feel his joy. The war has changed him. He can't get that intensity of feeling, the tick tock countdown of a bomb, the adrenaline of good versus evil, anywhere else.

Good film, but I don't know if it is great. It wasn't radical, or cinematically stunning. It wasn't even that original. But despite all the macho violence, it did have a heart and drew me in. That's success in my book.

Snow day!

I worked a half day today due to Snowmaggedon's arrival in NYC. Here's a quick peek at the lovely white fluff in Harlem.

Superbowl Sunday

So I actually watched a whole football game! And the proper way too, with friends and tons of junk food and cold beer. The game was surprisingly interesting. There was the underdog spirit of the Saints and the whole rooting for New Orleans to actually gain a small but important victory. And they were losing for a while too, so it make the last touchdown sweet. The commercials were bad though. They were just boring and conservative. Now to enjoy the whole year before I watch football again!

Gaga rocks my world (and the Grammys)

Lady Gaga & Elton John

Check out this video of  Lady Gaga opening the Grammys with a fabulous duet with Elton John. Meld her ballad "Speechless" with Elton's "Your Song" plus glitter and glasses, and you've got camp heaven.