I saw TMNT at a sneak preview this past (passed?) weekend with my esteemed colleagues Buddy Bill and RanJuan. Expert moviegoers all, the final verdict was a unanimous “radical!” This was a PG rated movie and we three are all aged 25+. Sure sure, we all grew up with the TMNT 80s cartoon but this movie ranks high for more than simple nostalgia.

To be clear this movie was note made for us. This is a kids movie for a franchise that has been done, redone and overdone past perfection. Three things stick out: great animation, great voice acting, and the semi-solid story-line.

The characters all looked soft and huggable (April O’Neil a little more than the others, yowza!) and the animation was fluid and clean.  Everyone had a non-realistic, cartoony style, but the environments were detailed without being distracting.  Check out screen grabs – a picture’s worth, like, a kajillion words.  Also, April is smokin’ hawttt in that ninja outfit.

As far as voice acting goes, I didn’t expect a TMNT movie to feature actual stars.  Seriously, this is more star power than the 3 live action movies put together.  Lawrence Fishburn (briefly), Zhang Ziyi (such a cute accent),  Mako, SMG, Bender’s voice, and Captain Picard.  Add on to that some quality turtle voices and you’ve got a cast that really fills in the characters.  Even Jean-Luc’s distinctive voice faded to the character, with only SMG’s lifeless hackery softening the illusion.

The plot was strong; truly a far stronger plot than most PG movies.  There were holes here and there, but it was a solid story with plenty of twists and turns and trickerations to keep it interesting.  The biggest oversight was not developing the Generals’ characters very well, but all in all you got a fulfilling storyline that is actually worth watching to see what happens next.

Now those are all the fine points that make this a better movie than your average kid’s fare, but where you’ll be amazed out of your gourd are the action sequences.  Big fights, 1-on-1s, montages, skateboard runs, chases – tons of action, great choreography and exceptional animation.  This movie might actually be worth watching again to see the fight scenes again. I reiterate: this movie is PG and has really fun fights.

TMNT is a fun, funny, exciting movie and I highly recommend it for all of our preteen Tiny Gods readers.  Forget what you’ve already seen of the Turtles, this movie is worth seeing.  I’d have been blown away if they put this movie out when I was a kid.  Turtle power!

I’m planning on installing the new version of WordPress (featuring AutoSave) and cleaning up the layout a little bit.  And by “cleaning up” I mean “trimming down” things to a simple, legible layout circa 2001.  I want it to be clean and simple, so it’ll load AFAP and  still have the information I want present.

On the topic of “information I want present,” you may have noticed by Google Reader shared items list on the right.  It doesn’t look OK with this layout, but the main thing is that I have it.  I’d also like to add other RSS feeds, be they your shared items from Google Reader, or the feed to your site itself.  More or less, I’d like to have updated information from everywhere, without them explicitly updating this site.

Let me know if you are using Google Reader or you have a different idea for what you want to include on this site.

So, I decided I was going to order myself a new laptop a few weeks back, and after some research, it came down to an HP and a Gateway. On Feb 28, I spoke with a salesperson at gateway (after he called me since i backed out of ordering online the night before), and placed the order. He told me my estimated arrival date for the notebook would be March 8.

Later that day, I receive the order confirmation, as well as a link to the order tracking page. I check it, and it says my estimated arrival is March 9. Only 1 day, no big deal I think. Days go by, and the order status page doesn’t change. My order sits in the “Processing” stage day after day, meaning they are verifying payment and shipping information. Finally, after a week, I email them to find out what the hell is going on with my order. I also call the salesperson. He tells me the website doesn’t work properly, and that my order is fine. It entered production the day after my order. All is well with the world.

The next day, I get an email response, saying that my order has been delayed, my new estimated delivery date is March 13. I check the order status page, it has my new estimated arrival date, but still says processing. I respond, asking if my order has in fact made it to production, pointing out that the sales rep told me less than 24 hours ago that there was nothing wrong with my order, and that the webpage is just broken (which appears to be untrue, since it updated my arrival date). Standard cookie cutter response that they are sorry, yadda yadda.

I wait another day or two, and email again. It is now the 9th, the original day I was supposed to receive my laptop, and I still haven’t received a shipping notification. I ask what the status is – order fulfilled, or further delayed? I get a response back the same day, saying the delay is due to a shortage of Windows Vista software. He does say however, that my estimated arrival date is the 13th still. So, I email again on the 11th, asking for my tracking number, my reasoning being that there are only two days before my order is estimated to arrive according to the site, surely it has to have been shipped. I get a response back today, telling me it has now been delayed another week, until the 20th. Three weeks after my order was originally placed, and at this point it is more likely to get delayed than to actually be shipped.

I can’t help but wonder how a computer manufacturer can run out of software that is installed on EVERY system they sell – and I cant imagine that they install it on every machine from a disc. With an operation as large as theirs, I would imagine they would be imaging these systems – so what is there a shortage of? The little stickers that they put on the bottom of the notebook saying its genuine?

Fortunately for them (and unfortunately for me), I have not been able to find another system that has all of the same features, so I am stuck with their awful service. But as I have already told them, I will never buy another gateway product, and will recommend the same to everyone I know. Maybe if they could deliver their notebooks in a reasonable time frame, like they can deliver emtpy apologies from customer service drones, I would reconsider.

Halleluja and mazeltov, Columbus has Sonics! It’s our Ultimate Drink Stop! It’s where the Ultimates would eat, if Mike Millar would write it into the story. Apparently the “news” that they would be opening these restaurants was on the local news, but though delicious it doesn’t really strike me as newsworthy.

That said, I’m just gonna hit you with some do’s and don’ts for eating fast food in central Ohio. Prepare thineself!

DO swing by a Sonic and get a Powerade slush, or an Ex Long Coney, or Tots w/ chili and cheez. I got the cheeseburger, strawberry limeade, and rings: good, better, best. Them rings are souped up in some fancy vanillish flavorism and they are far from mediocre.

DO what tastes right, so DON’T do the Wendy’s fish filet. It’s as “meh” as you can get without eating cardboard – and the fish sandwich isn’t even corrugated.

DO pick up some Taquitos from Taco Bell if you need to eat and drive. The Crunch Wrap Supreme was pretty portable, but these things take it to a new level.

DON’T go to Salsaritas. It’s the poor man’s Moe’s, which is the poor man’s Chipotle with a bad sense of humour.

DO eat fresh at Subway, but DON’T go near the Seafood Delight sandwich. Trust me on this and follow your instincts to something edible.

DO go to the Arby’s in the Stoneridge Plaza in Gahanna. Order something at the drive thru and they’ll try to sell you something extra every time. All the employees, and the managers especially, have great attitudes and the service is excellent.

Heed my recommendations and thou shalt get as fat as your heart may dream!

PS check out this weird note on the Wendy’s website.