I will go see anything with Ryan Gosling in it. Ever since I saw the Notebook (yes I like the Notebook, I think there is even a t-shirt) I have kept my eye out for movies he has been in. Even stumbled upon(not the website) an older film, The United States of Leland, which was really good.

So Lars and the Real Girl is a story about a guy Lars(Ryan Gosling) that lives in the garage of the house his parents left to him and his brother. Lars being pretty socially awkward and hermit like decides that a relationship with a doll is something he wants to do. Through the movie his family and the community have to adapt with this new relationship. At first it is strange and awkward but by the end they treat the doll like a real person.

This movie is really funny and also really moving. It might seem a little slow at times but it is worth it. It is a great movie about community and family and what they will do for you because they love you, even if you are dating a life size plastic doll.

Rated PG-13
Length: 106min - 1h 46min
Trailer

Drop.io is a fairly new website that allows you to create a page to put files on for others to download. I first heard about them on Net@Night a while ago. At the time it sounded great but I really didn’t have anything that I wanted or needed to put up.

I just decided to make a page for my whole family(I have a big one) to share files among us. I really think it is going to work out great. Mostly I think we will share photos this way. Even though I think when people get more comfy with it some video might make its way on there as well.

The site is free to use and you can buy upgrades if you need more space. If you have big files that need sharing go check it out.

This Tuesday PBS is airing a special titled “Car of the Future“.  Click and Clack, of Car Talk fame, are hosting the special, which should make for a comical event. It looks like they are going to be covering a wide variety of alternate fuel and energy cars. And from the trailer they are even taking the Tesla for a spin.

I’m really excited to see where alternate energy goes over the next 10 years, (Personal opinion here) as long as it doesn’t involve food based products for fuel, i.e, corn. I think using food supply for energy is about the most stupid thing we could do. That discussion is for another day.

Remember April 22nd 8pm Tuesday night. Check your local listing.

Victor Wooten’s new album Palmystery just hit stores and the web April 1st. Instead of a joke you get a pretty good album. *An Aside: This is also one of the first new releases I have bought on the web.(In Rainbows by Radiohead being the first) I am one of those people that still buys CDs, but those days for me I think are coming to an end.* Back to the album.

At first listen I had a pretty harsh opinion of it, but with most things with me the more I digest it the more I seem to like and understand it. This is Vic’s 5th Solo album and to me is a combination stylistically of the previous 4 albums. It has funk, solo bass with percussion, world music influences from africa to the middle east, singing, lots of crazy runs and a ton of guests. Too many to list. Click here for info on guests.

The album to me feels divided in half almost, where the first half is more complex and the second half is more straight forward. He does start the album off in my opinion with one of the most complex rhythmical songs on the album. “2 Timers”, rightly named having 2 different times during the piece. I think it jumps back and forth between 3 and 4 beat subdivisions. It is kind of hard to follow. It will take me a little bit to figure this out and feel it correctly and internally. The next few tracks have heavy world influences, the 2nd track “Cambo” being my favorite. It has a groove in 8 but is divided 3 + 5. Tracks 6 till the end comprise the more straight forward pieces. These songs are the kind of stuff you hear at his live show. More singing and more straight forward rhythmically, even though they do have some crazy runs and parts to them.

Overall this is a good solid album. For me it is not as good as Soul Circus or Yin Yang but still something I will listen to and learn from.