I Love Sexy Purses

Damn, this is hot. Num num num.

I Love 'I Am Legend', I Hate 'I Am Legend'

I very recently read I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It's a great book. I was genuinely stressed while reading it, which is how I know. In Nicole's world, everything is measurable by emotions.

Last night, we sat down to watch the latest movie adaptation because Evan finished up reading the book. I knew it was going to be nothing like the book - both because everyone and their mother hinted at it and because of seeing the trailers for myself. Some changes don't bother me as long as they make sense when translating a novel to film. Of course, modernizing a story from the 1950's is a must. The typical movie-watching minds can't handle anything "old-fashioned". I don't begrudge Hollywood that. Gotta make money. But, while I understood certain changes (ie, adding the dog from the beginning just to give him someone to talk to and develop character), I am sad that they put such a respectable title on that pathetic excuse for a movie. It was loooooosely based on the novel, at best.

Am I biased? Of course I am! One of my favorite Vincent Price movies is the original movie based on Matheson's book. They called it The Last Man on Earth. While it was dissimilar from the novel in many ways, it was still far more worthy of the I Am Legend title than this Will Smith nightmare.

A note about CGI. I hate it anymore. I hated the boring, screamy, annoying creatures in this movie. There was nothing interesting about them at all. I'll take those hammy looking zombie things from The Last Man on Earth anyday! Makeup and acting, please! No more shitty CGI creeps. And exactly where did the inspiration for them come from (if there was any)? Certainly not from the book.

And let's not forget about The Omega Man from the 70's. I love that movie, too. It was also loosely based on the novel, but they had the decency not to put the same name on it.

I think my bitterness against brainless entertainment is the reason I read what I read. I read classic horror and sci-fi because it is philosophical. It makes you think. On top of that, it scares you and stresses you out. Bonus. And I get irritated that many movies are so vapid. Especially when they drag respectable entertainment down with them.

I Am Legend was about mankind moving on. It was about one man's emotional roller-coaster and survival - not about monsters. They're just the dramatic and exciting backdrop that the real story is played against. It ultimately ends with Robert Neville's realization that he's the freak now, the last of his kind, the legend. Remember that Twilight Zone episode called "Eye of the Beholder?" Kinda like that. I see none of this in the movie I watched last night.

Why so pissy, Nicole? What does it matter? It doesn't. But it's what I think. Haha.

I Love Electric Sheep

Electric Sheep is the best screen-saver ever! At least once a day I marvel at it while passing my computer. I typically utter some unstoppable little word like "woah." I say it just like Keanu Reeves in Matrix, i've noticed. I mean, it's just that intense. *winks*

This was taken from ElectricSheep.org:

Electric Sheep is a free, open source screen saver created by Scott Draves. It's run by thousands of people all over the world, and can be installed on any ordinary PC or Mac. When these computers "sleep", the screen saver comes on and the computers communicate with each other by the internet to share the work of creating morphing abstract animations known as "sheep". The result is a collective "android dream", an homage to Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?.

Anyone watching one of these computers may vote for their favorite animations using the keyboard. The more popular sheep live longer and reproduce according to a genetic algorithm with mutation and cross-over. Hence the flock evolves to please its global audience. You can also design your own sheep and submit them to the gene pool.

I Love Robocop (And Unicorns)

This is a pretty good representation of how my mind works.

I Love Flash Gordon

Uhm, everyone should see this movie. I made no mistake by watching it the other night. It's free on demand, people! What's better than a football fight? Seriously? No, seriously!

"Are your men on the right pills?"



Respectfully submitted,

Nicole Freshwater

I Love The X-Files

Evan and I went to see the X-Files movie today. I didn't plan it. Just suggested it and it happened. Ivy was at a party with Brent & Brittani, so we took advantage of the freedom.

I'm not going to try and say it was that great of a movie, but I hearts me some X-Files! It made me happy. I looked at Evan before it started and said, "I feel like I am about to be reunited with my first true love." Seriously, people, I have a cat named Mulder. It was kinda sad to see my beloved David Duchovny looking so much older. *Sigh* Whatev' - still delicious.

My complaint is pretty simple. It was like watching a 2-hour long X-Files and wishing that it was a better episode. I can think of several episodes that had better stories than this movie had. Acting and directing and all that was fine, don't get me wrong. I guess I was just hoping for some more conspiracy-oriented stuff. Side note - I dug that it was set in harsh West Virginian winter but came out in the dead of summer. Instant air-conditioning, like singing Christmas carols to cool off.


Now I need to hunt down my fellow X-Files lovers because I have some questions about how the show ended. I stopped watching right before the last season. Things never work out when a main character wants to leave a show. When DD wanted to leave, they should have ended it right. Instead, it went out without a bang...kinda dwindled away. It was a sad ending to one of the most legendary Sci-Fi shows ever made.

I Love Gina

I have a life-long friend named Gina. Our Moms have been best friends since they were 16. So there was no hope of us not at least knowing each other. Knowing doesn't always mean loving, but I love me some Gina. Today brought me one more reason. As I have just become aware, she likes The Freshwater Files. Who wouldn't, right? Then again, she has always had good taste.

As I was saying, Gina read my post about finding the Sci-Fi Stories mag from 1957. While visiting her sister in LA, she came across some postcards that are old sci-fi book covers and bought me 2. Then, instead of just waiting to see me, she surprised me by mailing them in a card! The card had handwriting in it! I almost forgot how to read handwriting-even nice handwriting like hers! What I read was a helluva nice note and I really 'effing appreciate it. I don't think there are too many things I enjoy more than sci-fi and presents. When the two forces are joined, it's bliss.

Thanks for making my day, girl!

I Love Treasure Hunting

Those who know me will know what I mean when I say I'm cleaning out Nunny's house. For those who don't, Nunny was my grandmother. She passed away several months ago at the age of 93.

Someone now has to redisperse all of her belongings (i.e., trash, give, or keep). The task can be pretty interesting when the person was so old and lived in the same house for most of their life. This incredible responsibility has fallen to me for several reasons, one of which is that I love to root through old junk. I'm a nostalgic person and I loved my Nunny.

This first Freshwater File is going to be about 2 things that I am putting into my "keep" category. And maybe this one should be called a "Knouse File," out of respect.

The first is this...




Dear Lord, why didn't my father (I assume this belonged to him) have a whole box of these? January 1957, 35 cents! I almost died when I found it. There are stories by Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick. I get overly excited just thinking about reading it. Hell, I get pretty excited just looking at that cover art.

On the back cover, an advertisement for The Science-Fiction Book Club pokes fun at a geek-tastic money making scheme..."It may sound fantastic. It may be illegal. But the former chairman of the Hayden Planetarium in New York is actually selling deeds to one-acre plots on the Moon for $1 each! And more than 4,500 people have bought such plots!" Ah, I love me some nerd humor.

My second submission is this awesome little leaflet...



How to Develop a More Successful Personality: For a Winning & Magnetic "You"! At the bottom: Completely Illustrated With: Photographs, Diagrams, Charts. Oh, I am loving this. I am always trying so hard to be a winning and magnetic "me"!

The seven success secrets, as outlined by Joe Bonobo:

1. Be yourself
...check!

2. Look up!
...OK, but if I see a spider on the ceiling, I might freak out.

3. Courtesy counts!
...eh, I think it can be a bit overrated so that's one to work on.

4. How friendly are you?
...pretty damned, thank you very much.

5. Take the initiative!
...check!

6. That string on your finger!
...uhm, I think he's talking about memory here??? What?

7. Persistence pays off!
...That's what I always say.

It looks like I am on my way to rocking even harder than I already do. Thanks Joe Bonobo.

I have found a myriad of entertaining things in the house so far. The next file will be about some old drawings done by myself and my Autistic brother. Don't miss it!