C.Butt Co., Inc.: September 2007

So there isn't anything major going on in my life (I took the GRE this week...yee-haw), and I haven't stumbled upon anything interesting or funny on the internet recently either. So, I thought I'd lay out what I've been doing to keep busy lately. Everything on this list comes highly recommended by me, so I'd advise you to check out anything that sounds interesting.

Superbad: Hopefully most of you have seen this. This has been a really good year for comedies, but I think this one was my favorite. It also has one of the most disgusting things I've seen in a comedy since There's Something About Mary.

Muse: Hunter actually got me started on Muse a couple years ago. If you haven't heard of them, I would describe them as a harder version of Radiohead. I went to see them in concert at Red Rocks on Tuesday and it was amazing. They had 3 huge screens behind them, a display on the platform for the drums and an intricate lighting system. Every song they played had a specific presentation that was tailored to it. It was the best show I've seen in years.

Bioshock: I don't know if anyone else has an Xbox 360 or a high end PC, but if you do, and you like games, you should check out Bioshock. It is one of the best games I've ever played, and I've played quite a few games over the years. You play as a character who survives a plane crash in the middle of the Atlantic only to discover the entrance to a gigantic city built on the bottom of the ocean. The city, Rapture, was founded by a wealthy industrialist who took the philosphy of Ayn Rand a little too seriously, which led to it's collapse (along with rampant genetic modification). There is so much in the game, it's impossible to be concise in describing it. Everything about it is excellent, so click on the link and read the review if you are interested.
(Also Halo 3 comes out tomorrow. All signs point to awesome for that one too.)

Battlestar Galactica (2004): Ok, it's a SciFi Channel original series. Ignore that fact for a second. I would say it is of the same quality as any big budget serialized drama on one of the major networks. The budget is a little smaller, but the special effects are still pretty decent as evidenced by the fairly complicated and intense space battles. The story, acting and direction are all great. The series begins with a miniseries that is the equivalent of about 4 or 5 episodes. Check it out if you enjoy science fiction. Personally this show restored my faith in the genre.

A Song of Ice and Fire: Most fantasy sucks. Tolkein did a great job establishing the genre and providing creatures and archetypes, but it seems like many authors can't move past his ideas. This series of books is shaping up to be better than Lord of the Rings. George R. R. Martin does something that most fantasy writers can't: create compelling and complicated characters. His world isn't populated by virtuous elves and evil hideous orcs. There are only people, many times conflicted and morally ambiguous. His world is also extremely harsh. Beginning with the second book, there is a war raging with the severity of something in Braveheart. HG, if for some reason you read this post, you especially should read this series.

That's all I have. Let me know if anybody checks out any of this and enjoys it.