imax

Entries Tagged as 'imax'

Avatar in 3D at the IMAX Theater

January 15th, 2010 · 1 Comment

On Wednesday night I went to see Avatar in 3D at the IMAX theater with Dallas, Brian, Chad and Limey. These were the awesome glasses we got to wear! They were huge! And it was funny to turn to my friends during the movie and see them wearing them!!

So.. the movie. You know, there’s been so much hype about Avatar. Even before it premiered. And I remember hearing interviews with James Cameron going on about how this is his passion and his life’s work and how it was going to be bigger than his other movie Titanic and it was going to push the boundries technically and be better than Star Wars in its day or LOTR in its day. And I was kind of like “er. ok. whatever, dude!” But, I must say. I really liked it.

At its core it’s a story we’ve all heard a million times before. You know.. outsider infiltrates group and has an alterior motive. Group accepts him and he learns all about them and becomes one of them. Group finds out about alterior motives. Outsider must explain that those were the motives in the beginning but not any more. And there’s a romantic plot. And there’s a lot of action scenes with the big bad commander who will stop at nothing. This is nothing new. But the movie itself is gorgeous and fast paced. It’s something like 3 hours long, but doesn’t feel like it is. And the way that Cameron brings you into this new world, called Pandora, is really interesting.

As far as technology? Yes, some of the best CGI I’ve ever seen. .. and then add 3D. But, not your normal cheesy 3D, like the movies in the past that were just made for 3D and for messing with the technology. You know, things coming out at the audience on purpose just to make you jump. This is not like that. It’s more like you just feel like you’re a part of the movie. Of course, that huge IMAX screen didn’t hurt either.

So, overall, I think the story was weak, but the graphics were strong and it was still really fun to watch. Definitely worth the time and money.

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Tags:3d·avatar·brian·chad·Chicago·dallas·imax·limey·movies·navy pier

08.08.08

August 9th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Roscoe Village, Chicago

On Roscoe Street between Kitsch’n and Orange there is a small business with a sign in the window that says “Dogs Understand the Importance of Naps.” Many times when I pass there is a dog sleeping in the window. I’ve taken a few photos of this scene, but they always turn out horrible with reflections and stuff. This photo is no better, but I’m posting it anyway.

I walked to the Addison Brown line and took the train downtown for lunch. It was Giuliana’s last day at Google and, as is tradition, all the old FeedBurners were taking her out to Singha. We did the same thing on my last day and I remember at that time trying to order Phuket beer. I believe that the correct pronunciation is “poo-ket” but of course, our sixth-grader minds thought “fuck-it” and thought it was appropriate for a last day celebration. Unfortunately, the beer wasn’t available for my last day, but it was for Giuliana’s, so a bunch of us ordered it.

After lunch a few people had tickets to see The Dark Knight on IMAX as part of some Google-sponsored event. Someone couldn’t go and there was an extra ticket. No one knew what to do with it. Since I didn’t have anything planned that afternoon, I volunteered to use the ticket. Thanks Google for lunch and a movie! I’d already seen The Dark Knight, but it was amazing on IMAX.

After lunch I ran a few errands. Dallas called to say that unexpectedly his college friend Chandra was in town visiting from San Francisco and he was going to meet up with her and Kristin. I’d met Chandra once in 2004 when I lived in Chicago and she lived in
New York. It was either this trip or this one, they were only a week apart. Kristin and I were both working for Monster back then and we were both visiting New York for the same project. We took Chandra out with us for Blue Ribbon Sushi, some of the best sushi in New York. Anyway, after I got home and changed I met up with Kristin, Dallas and Chandra at Kristin’s house. We had a glass of wine in her back yard before heading out for dinner.. which was sushi. This time at Tank. The photo at the right is not a good quality, but shows how much sushi the four of us pounded through. It was almost as much sushi as Dallas, Kristin and I ate that one time at Blue Fin after the Old Town Art Fair. So good.

After dinner we went to The Long Room and sat outside in the garden, which is fabulous. The beer list at The Long Room is pretty impressive too. Not as great as when we were at Hopleaf, but really good. Danny, Killian and Alden met up with us at The Long Room. Jessica also came and brought her college friend Lizzie who was visiting from the Twin Cities. Randomly there were two of their college classmates at The Long Room. They didn’t even go to school in Illinois, so kind of weird.

Rachelle, Alden, Jess, Lizzie at Sidekick, Irving Park, Chicago

When The Long Room closed at 2 a.m. Alden, Jessica, Lizzie and I decided it was a good idea to go out for karaoke. Alden’s friend Kristen works at a karaoke place called Sidekick out in Irving Park, so we decided to go there. When we arrived we found out that they stop doing karaoke at 2 a.m. Dang! We bought a few shots (mine was buttery nipple) and asked around to see where we could go for karaoke. On a recommendation, we went to Hidden Cove.

Hidden Cove, Lincoln Square, Chicago

I was excited to go to Hidden Cove because of a dumb inside joke we had at Google about a conference room we called “The Cove.” It was everything we wanted. Nice staff, french fries, open til 4 a.m., karaoke. Jess, Lizzie and I sang 9 to 5 and Alden sang R.O.C.K. in the USA.

Lizzie, Jessica, Rachelle at Hidden Cove, Lincoln Square, Chicago

Alden at Hidden Cove, Lincoln Square, Chicago

08.08.08 was a fun day for me. Totally unplanned, aside from lunch, I just went with the flow and had a great time!

Lunch. Bike. Pool. Barbecue.

July 27th, 2008 · 7 Comments

Erin got a new job and she works from home now. Since her home is a 5 minute walk from my home, on Thursday we made plans to lunch on salads from Robey’s while sitting outside in the sun. Nice time. Erin had her bike in at Roscoe Village Bikes and while we were waiting for it to get done we shopped around a bit at Roscoe Village stores. While in the bike shop I talked to them about my bike and what sorts of cruiser bikes they have. RVB doesn’t sell Electra bikes but told me about some other brands I could look into. I made note of them and thought I’d looked them up online, but ended up not doing it. I’d like to support RVB, but they didn’t have any of the bikes in stock and would have to special order what I wanted and I was afraid I wouldn’t like it or how it rides.

Hamlin Park, Lakeview, Chicago

After lunch I went and sat at our neighborhood pool for a while. It was pretty packed! I couldn’t get a lounge chair so I just laid my towel out on the cement and enjoyed the weather.

On Friday I went to the bike shop where Dallas and I originally bought our bikes, On The Route. I talked to John there a lot about replacing my Electra Townie and realized something I didn’t know before. I had a 7-speed bike and the 2008 models of the 7-speed bike don’t have all the bells and whistles my bike had, which is why my bike was so much more expensive than the 7-speeds available now. I had the internal hub shifting and a shock system and fenders, all things that the 2008 model 7-speeds don’t have. So, to get those things I’d have to downgrade to a 3-speed or upgrade to the 8-speed. I decided to upgrade. It was more expensive, but the money I’m getting from insurance will take a bite out of the price. OTR had to order my bike, which I wasn’t nervous about since John told me that the seat and the body of the bike haven’t changed so it should ride just like my old bike. The bike will arrive in a week or two and this is what it will look like:

Friday night we had a barbecue at our house. A lot of people came, about 15 or so. It was fun and I’ll admit I drank too much of the Summer of Rachelle official drink. On Saturday I was SO sick. I mean, I don’t even think it was hangover sick. I maybe was coincidentally having the stomach flu? I was still getting sick at 9 p.m. last night. There’s no way that was still a hangover. I couldn’t even take a sip of water. What a waste of a day. I don’t know what happened, but I missed Colleen and Justin’s going away party, Margaret’s Golden 26th birthday and a chance to see an afternoon showing of the Dark Knight at the IMAX with Liz and Killian. I need to remind myself that I’m almost 33, not 23.

At The River Front

April 7th, 2008 · 4 Comments

Spanish Plaza, French Quarter, New Orleans

Creole Queen Cruise Ship, French Quarter, New Orleans

Crescent City Connection, French Quarter, New Orleans

$Hottest Fuckin\' Wing Sauce$
Riverwalk Marketplace, French Quarter, New Orleans

Riverwalk Marketplace, French Quarter, New Orleans

After my cooking class I shopped a bit on Decatur St. and then strolled around Woldenberg Riverfront Park. I also walked a bit around the Spanish Plaza, which features a large fountain surrounded by seals of the provinces of Spain. It was dedicated to New Orleans by Spain in 1976. I saw a lot of steamboats, ferries and cruise ships (I saw the Creole Queen docked & boarding) in the Mississippi River and admired the Crescent City Connection bridges. It was a really warm day and I was just happy to be outside. Finally, I walked through Riverwalk Marketplace, but didn’t stay there long because blech. It’s just a mall. I did see all these fuckin’ hot sauces and coffees there, though. When my legs were starting to give out, I rested by watching an IMAX movie called Hurricane on the Bayou. It was actually a pretty great film about the Louisiana bayous and how threatened they are. It was told from the point of view of some local musicians, and so, as you may have guessed, it has a great soundtrack.

Around Milwaukee

July 13th, 2003 · No Comments

Walking to Summerfest along Lake Michigan.

The US Bank Center is the tallest building in WI. It is 42 stories. The Empire State Building is the tallest building in NY. It is 102 stories.

We were at Summerfest to see Ben Folds. He played on the Piggly Wiggly stage. I’d been dying to see him live for years. Unfortunately, because of the way the audience area was set up we were barely able catch glimpses of him.

This was our view for most of the concert.

Ben Folds. You don’t know what I had to do to get this photo.

Lately I’ve been watching a lot of this A&E program called America’s Castles. It features beautiful mansions around the country and gives you a tour of the house and it’s history. The Pabst Mansion was one of the houses featured and so when I got the chance, I drug my entire family there to tour it.

Outside the Pabst Mansion. Photos inside are not allowed even though I took one inside one of the bathrooms that I plan to submit to The Mirror Project soon.