My Next Purchase

After doing some research and comparing the MSR AutoFlow Gravity Filter against the Platypus CLeanStream Gravity Filter System on various websites I decided to go with the MSR. I have been using an MSR pump with a ceramic filter for years and it has performed very well. It is easy to clean, and other than a slowing flow rate, should last for a few more years. But pumping is one of my least favorite elements of the outdoor adventure so I am going to try a gravity filter. This will be perfect for group trips and appears to be lighter than most water filtration systems. The hollow fiber filters are supposed to be a little more fussy but it should be worth it with the higher flow. I will let you know after I use it. Next trip should be in a few weeks.

2 Episodes in...Justified aka "Tim Olyphant is Pissed"

As you can see from the picture above, Tim Olyphant is pissed about something. After two episodes we don't really know what it is but it appears he doesn't like bad guys.

FX has released a number of good series in the past few years - Rescue Me (seasons 1 and 2), Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy (season 1), the too quickly canceled Starved, even the narrow minded and hopelessly going nowhere series The League - all of these shows brought something interesting, funny, and well produced to TV.

Justified is a well done show with a charismatic and interesting lead. The show is about a U.S. Marshall who is forced to leave Miami and return home to the backwoods of Kentucky due to an altercation in a hotel (a very memorable first scene in the first episode). Timothy Olyphant plays the Marshall Raylan Givens and channels a few parts Clint Eastwood (both Dirty Harry and The Man with No Name), a few parts Bruce Willis in Die Hard, and many parts Seth Bullock from Deadwood. Olyphant's roll in Deadwood was a sheriff who wanted justice and control, so much so that he wasn't human. The Givens character is a better version of Bullock, one that anyone could identify with.

The first episode moved briskly and introduced a white supremacist played superbly by Walton Goggins (who has an impressive IMDB resume). While the show doesn't appear to have a central storyline, only a central theme, hopefully the white supremacist character returns to a main role. The watchability of this show is very high mainly because Olyphant is doing his best work. The writing is good enough to keep the series moving. Hopefully the episodes centered around various Marshall duties (prisoner transport, manhunts, witness protection) can stay fresh.

2 Episdoes in...The Pacific Miniseries

Here at Things That Entertain Alex we have decided to debut a new segment about television - "2 Episodes in..." will review new TV series after the second episode. Really you need about two seasons before you know if the writers have any idea what their longterm plan is but after two episodes you have an idea where the first season is headed.
The Pacific miniseries on HBO, produced by the team behind the original Band of Brothers Series, is a world war two war-drama abou the theatre in the Pacific Ocean. The first episode followed the marines at home and at briefings describing where they were headed then took us straight to the landing crafts. After an anticlimactic landing at Guadalcanal we see them get their first action. The second episode follows the soldiers through a few more tense battles, some pysocological struggles, and finally getting off the island. The last scene of the second episode was probably the best of the series when the dissheveled and shell shocked marines chat briefly with a Navy cook about what they saw and he responds that Americans now see these men as heroes.

The shows production value is very high and it succeeds with large set piece battles as well as with the psycological aspects. A scene in the second episode when the Marines loot an Army resupply is particular entertaining. The acting is overall quite good and the cast is made up of men you recognize but have to IMDB to see where you recognize them from (the kid from Jurassic Park is about to enter the fray).

The single biggest problem with this show is that it is not as good as the original Band of Brothers miniseries. The original, released in 2001, followed airborne troops through France, Belgium, and Germany. The characters were more memorable, better acted, and easier to identify. Characters in The Pacific seem to blend together and look enough alike that you cannot tell who is who. And since all of the battles occur at night and are lit by muzzle flashes, flares and explosions you really can't tell what men are involved in which firefights and it has never been made clear which company/battalion each group are with.

Because of the high production value and potential for character development this is a much watch; but if you need a World War II fix watch the original BOB series.

Shake Weight

This is just too awesome to not post. This is the shakeweight, which kind of looks like a dumbell crossed with a sex toy. Watch the video at www.shakeweight.com/ and prepare to have your mind blown. Also enjoy the women with really disgusting arms.

Warrior Dash

Before I busted up my knee playing basketball (and falling on asphalt) I signed up for the Warrior Dash. It will be my first adventure race of the year and covers 3 miles with multiple obstacles. Before I hurt my knee I was running 4 to 5 miles a day and figured I could compete for a place on the podium (and the metal warrior helmet that comes with it). Now I am just looking forward to jogging the race and bumbling over obstacles. I guess the injury took the competetive edge out of it. Oh well. Should still be a fun event, and for only 60 bones you can't really go wrong.

New Playstation Sex Toy

I am not sure if Playstation intended for their new motion control joystick to look like some of sex toy but, well, it definitely does. Assuming it vibrates this could make for some interesting and immersive gaming opportunities.

Un Prophete

As noted previously, Saturday night was a rough night for good movies. Maybe that was a reaction caused by our Friday night viewing: Un Prophete. Before I go further - GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It was excellent from start to finish - acting, direction, cinematography, story - the entire film had a tension to it that I rarely find in modern cinema.
The movie stars Tahar Rahim in a star making part. He is incarcerated in a French prison and has to quickly learn the ropes. Without spoiling too much, he goes into jail a poor, illiterate boy with no friends or family and leaves with an education, family, and a life waiting for him on the outside. How he gets there spans two and a half hours, covers a few different jail cells, multiple shower scenes (some benign, some violent), different cities, and some things you would never expect to happen. The movie could have been cut down to two hours or so but it does not suffer at its length.
This movie is so good I really don't want to go into the details of the plot because you should go see it. Just know that you do not know how this will end and the protaganist's life always feels one misturn away from ending. This tension is a breath of fresh air compared to predictable flicks like Avatar, District 9, and An Education. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!