Sunday, July 07, 2002

So the cable Internet connection is down Friday, Saturday except briefly, and today except part of this morning.  I finally call to complain, "Hey, there's a big construction project just down the block and my cable Internet is out."  "We're not showing any outage; is your cable TV working?"  "Yes, but your Internet line is out."  "Well, our tests indicate it's OK.  Have you installed a splitter on your cable modem line?"  "No, uh, yes, well, I put on a Radio Shack splitter when I got this TV card for the PC, but your line is out, I'm telling you."  "Well, could you try disconnecting the TV card and hooking the modem right into the line from the wall?"  "That's not the problem; I say it's gotta be your line."  "Well, could you just try it?"  "Listen, I'm telling you it's the line, I'll try it just to humor you but it ... works fine."  Arrr.  My days as a cable pirate may be ended. 5:26:05 PM    commentplace ()

Film critic least likely to appreciate a Godzilla festival: The Powerpuff Girls is, of course, a cartoon (indeed, its minimalist animation makes it more cartoony than anything else this side of South Park), about three kindergartners whose superpowered battles with villains and monsters frequently involve blowing up city blocks or taking bites out of skyscrapers — a running gag in the series, which even had one tot's dad at School Career Day explain that he insured the buildings in their city of Townsville ("Sigh ... I am a very busy man").  Anyway, this makes their movie unacceptable to Philadelphia Inquirer reviewer Carrie Rickey: "Girls are terror, and it isn't cute ... half enjoyable goof, half an uncomfortable panorama of urban terrorism that just doesn't sit well after Sept. 11."  Can we all say, "Geez, lady, lighten up"? 11:41:40 AM    commentplace ()