Jason 'vanRijn' Kasper

An impromptu OpenSuse install

Thursday August 18, 2005

I am not, by nature, someone who enjoys doing the same thing over and over and over again. Variety is most certainly the spice of life. This holds true in every aspect of my life. The Linux distributions that I use are no different. For the longest time, I used nothing but Debian unstable (like we’re talking 4+ years here…). Then at some point I switched and started using Fedora Core, and pretty much enjoyed it except for the annoyances regarding mp3 playback and other minor nits. In fact, I have 2 computers at home running Fedora Core 3 still. Then, predictably, I got bored with it and wanted to see what the other Linux distributions had been up to, Read more…

Movies, Music

Beyond the Sea, beyond my expectations

Saturday August 13, 2005

I had this one sitting on my desk for 2 weeks at least from Blockbuster online rental. I had read somewhere that it was good, and I have always absolutely loved Bobby Darin’s voice and style. But I was not prepared for this amazing movie. Beyond the Sea really affected me in a deep and profound way. I find that most intelligent movies do this to me, and I’m not really sure why, but my whole being is touched by movies that have powerful themes like Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Vanilla Sky, Signs, Road to Perdition, and many others. My mood, thinking, and perspective on my life is challenged when I watch movies like this, and Beyond the Sea is Read more…

Life in General

Really Wrinkly, Old Guys

Thursday August 11, 2005

The last iTunes e-mail brought this recent photo of Mick and the boys in front of my eyes. *blink* *blink* Now, you can certainly give Apple kudos for having the unique ability to make anything in the world look good. I mean, honestly, Apple could make a dirty diaper look appealing. However, these guys look so bad (read: really wrinkly, squinty, disheveled, badly dressed, gaunt, and… is that a 50’s wig???), the only thing that could make them look appealing (imho, anyway) is to have the picture not include them in it. I suppose I’ll offend people by saying such things (and the people I will offend are the type of die-hard fans I most probably don’t want to meet, Read more…

Life in General

Danger Mouse!!!

You cannot deny the importance of Danger Mouse–neither in my growing up years, nor to the sanity and balance of the world. I can’t wait until these DVD’s show up from Blockbuster online! Cor, Chief!! (originally posted as Danger Mouse!!! and uploaded by vanRijn).

Music

Online music, breaking the mold

Tuesday August 9, 2005

I must admit that I am very impressed with a some of the songs that were sent to me in the latest MP3Tunes e-mail sampler. Dragonfly by Universal Hall Pass, for one, is suprisingly enjoyable! To quote their Mercury album page… An album aptly named for it’s ever-morphing musical backdrops with extremely adventurous songwriting, a unique voice, and lyrical content covering truth, coyness, charm, and mythos. The lead singer’s voice is REALLY interesting. It reminds me a bit of Nelly Furtado, Superchic(k), and Portishead, all at once. Combined with some fairly complex and eclectic arrangements, the songs combine a diverse set of influences and the outcome is a unique, pleasant diversion. The second tune that I absolutely had to buy Read more…

Life in General, Movies

Yes, Marge, it is possible to watch those movies with your kids

Friday July 29, 2005

So, my beautiful bride and I had an opportunity the other night to spend the evening without two of our children, which left just the two of us and our beautiful daughter (we’ll call her Kiwi here). We enjoyed a few serene and peaceful hours at the local Borders, looking through whatever books we found to tickle our fancy. And then we came home, thinking that we could watch some movies with Kiwi, being that she’s getting older now and stuff. And what movies we have to choose from, just let me tell you! Movies I love to watch with Lynn, like O Brother, Where Art Thou, The Transporter, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Mission Impossible, Undercover Blues, and many, many Read more…

Music

So, you can have your iTunes and Linux it too!

Thursday July 28, 2005

This is absolutely the coolest Open Source thing, by far, this month. In fact, it might be the coolest thing I’ve seen in a couple of months. Jon Lech Johansen (you might remember him as the guy who largely made it possible to watch those pesky little DVDs that you paid good money for on the Operating System you choose) has done it again. Apparently, my head has been in the sand for the last several months, since SharpMusique is a (very nicely done!) C# port of the python-based PyMusique application. What is PyMusique (and subsequently SharpMusique), you ask? Why, nothing more than a free working Open Source interface to Apple’s iTunes store!!! Does it work? Absolutely!! And well!! And Read more…

Books, Life in General

Mere Christianity, Sunday BBQ

Sunday July 17, 2005

After talking with John from KKSM, I ordered and received Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I read the preface thus far and underlined about half of it. It is SOOOOO good!! I absolutely love C.S. Lewis’s writing style. He is both precisely clear and creative at the same time. One example: “It so happens that the impulse which makes men gamble has been left out of my make-up; and, no doubt, I pay for this by lacking some good impulse of which it is the excess or perversion.” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Preface page XII Love it! And the section following that, where he talks about the meaning of the very word “Christian”… amazing!!! Ahh, and thank goodness for Read more…

Life in General

London, under attack

Friday July 8, 2005

This turns my stomach.

Books, Life in General

The Da Vinci Code

Thursday July 7, 2005

So, my sister Jenny was reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown when she came out for her vacation and since she bought the bigger version (with pictures), she gave me her old one. And thus I got hooked. She had me read a couple of pages in the middle of the book, and my first reaction was a strong distaste. I mean, this is Jesus the story is meddling with. Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, my Lord and Savior–you’ve heard of Him, surely. I started reading, though, and was immediately caught into the story, and as is usual with good stories, I couldn’t put it down until Read more…