Dinner For One

In Germany, everybody follows a yearly procedure before going out to celebrate New Year’s Eve: around 7pm, you watch “Dinner For One” on your local TV station. I have no idea when the tradition started, but that’s what you do. Don’t argue with me! So here it is, for you to enjoy before you celebrate the arrival of 2009. And next year, you’ll hopefully start making it “the same procedure as every year!”

Impressions From Germany

As I did four years ago, here is a gallery of images from our Xmas trip to Germany. This year we traveled around quite a bit, visiting Münster, Köln and as a bonus, across the border to Amsterdam.

Silent Reviews

Batman Begins – Kind of…
Get Smart – Yes
CDG Airport – No (it bears repeating)
Wii Sports Bowling w/ family – Yes

WordPress 2.7 Update

After a short grace period (you never know what new versions do to your plugins!) I have updated the page to WordPress v2.7. Everything seems to be fine, but please let me know if you find any weird behavior or missing stuff!

The Year That Was: 2008 (Part 2)

Here’s part two of my “Hey, 2008 was pretty crappy but there’s a lot to be thankful for!” list. Read part one for the first four entries.

Green Card

This year I was (finally!) granted permanent residency for the US, after having lived here for over 10 years. And that makes everything a lot easier! I was lucky enough to receive an O-1 visa when Ritual Entertainment first brought me to America, and that made it possible to stay indefinitely (and switch jobs twice) with comparatively minor headaches. But it also brought the pressure of having to be employed without a single lapsed day, annoying immigration procedures at the airport and bi-yearly trips to my favorite heavily fortified building in all of Frankfurt, the American Consulate. All of those things are in the past now, and I can enjoy life in America with one less monkey on my back.

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The Year That Was: 2008

Let’s face it: 2008 wasn’t a great year. Between the record economic downturn, the mortage crisis, the shrinking job market, and a financial stimulus package that didn’t seem to help anybody who actually needed it, this year won’t enter many people’s memories as one to remember. But even though 2008 wasn’t great, and even though the outlook for 2009 isn’t necessarily better (yet), Victoria and I were lucky to not encounter any real hardship during the last 12 months. So with New Year’s Eve is approaching, I decided to look back at the good times that we had last year. Here’s a few things that were decidely cool about 2008:

A Race Season at Sears Point

2008 marked the first year that I received a hard card for Infineon Raceway, and it made for a great racing season. We had easy access and parking to all events; I stood right next to the track as thundering race cars were shooting down the esses at 100+ mph; I filmed some great footage like the NASCAR time lapses; and I got Victoria and her dad backstage access to the prerace festivities of the IndyCar race. I also filmed many of the driver appearances and tests at the track, and in using that footage I gained a lot of experience as a movie editor. The 40 Year documentary was quite a big accomplishment, and the mini promos for the NASCAR and NHRA events were fun. I’m still not doing anything earth-shattering with my movies, but it’s very decent film-making for the web. And it’s a great hobby to balance all the game development stuff that I normally do!

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all you who celebrate it! I hope that you have a good time with your family and loved ones, and find some relief from the crazy world out there.

Silent Reviews

Cloverfield – Yes
Shrek the Halls – No
Tropic Thunder – Yes
Ghost Town – No
Air France inter continental flights – Yes
CDG Airport – No

Okay, usually these are supposed to be “silent” reviews of whatever I’ve watched (or experienced) in the last week, without further explanation. But I just have to add a quick note about the current Air France entertainment center: it’s about as good for in-flight entertainment as it gets. They already had individual screens for every seat a few years ago, with select movies and games that people could chose at their leisure. But these days they have an entire library of movies to choose from. Iron Man, Indy 4, The Dark Knight, all Harry Potter installments, etc. pp. At least 50 movies, and all of them are in the original, unedited(!) version. And various games and TV series on top of that. That’s pretty damn cool.

Sure, air travel in economy seats is still a bitch, and Charles De Gaulle airport never ceases to annoy. But I had quite an enjoyable time during our flight.

Snapshot

Cyber-stalking aid, December 2008:

Reading… The Elfish Gene (Marc Barrowcliffe)
Watching… How I Met Your Mother, Season 1
Playing… Gears of War 2
Looking Forward To… Xmas in Germany

Silent Reviews

Playstation Home – No
Hancock (1st half) – Yes
Hancock (2nd half) – No
The Shawshank Redemption (Blu-ray) – Yes
How I Met Your Mother, Season 1 – Yes