Electron Hut: Kyle Bedell’s Blog

So Katherine and I went to see Iron Man at the Post 14 Cinema De Lux near UNH this afternoon. We tried to buy tickets for the 3:40pm show on an automated kiosk, but were surprised to find that the time wasn’t listed. When we went up to the front desk, we were informed that the 3:40pm was a special ‘Director’s Lounge’ showing. Wanting to see the early show, we went for it.

This turned out to be an incredibly awesome idea. For a single dollar extra over the standard matinée, you get the following:

• Seatside food ordering service (we didn’t get anything, but having your snacks brought to via waiter is cool)
• Reserved seats (you pick off of a touchscreen interface and someone comes around to verify that you’re in the seats you selected later on)
• Leather reclining seats (!) with armrests that swivel up and out of the way. Katherine was ecstatic about this (she hates armrests).

I swear, this had to be the most posh movie theater I’ve ever set foot in. In-theater restaurant, Ben & Jerry’s, the Director’s Lounge…why can’t Regal Cinemas get their act together and come up with a great setup like this? This was, hands down, the best movie viewing experience I have ever had. It’s a shame that these guys don’t seem to have a chain presence in Massachusetts, at least not one I’m aware of.

Oh, and the movie? It’s two hours of Marvel awesomeness, definitely Iron Man done right. While it doesn’t quite trump Batman Begins or the first Spider-Man film, it’s pretty close. If you happen to be an action fan, there’s all the more reason to go watch it.

Also, sleepy-sheep, the softest plush animal ever.

As most of the folks who read this blog know, I write a weekly Arts and Entertainment column for the Bentley Vanguard where I review games and gadgets or just comment on the state of technology. Graduation is rapidly approaching, and although I’ll be here at Bentley for another year doing my graduate work, I’m not sure if I should continue my writing. On one hand, I love writing articles for the paper. Most of them get posted here first in one form or another anyway, and it’s not difficult to adapt those posts for publication in the newspaper. I get to see my name in print, inform a bunch of people about some nifty new software or what have you, and it gives me a sense of fulfillment. On the other hand, it’s going to be a really busy fall semester with work (hopefully) and school at the same time. Maybe it’s time to give someone else a chance to do what I do? Tom Hoeler, the current editor-in-chief, said that he’d love to have me back for another semester in the fall.

What do you guys think?

I just finished reading Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman for the sixth(?) time or so, and it got me thinking about stories. I asked myself why I love fiction so much, why I get so much happiness out of tales of fantasy, but I don’t think I can put it into words. I think that, perhaps, stories acts as a sort of counterbalance to the ‘real world’, where I can’t justify the existence of things like personifications of aspects of the universe. Stories can represent anything: hope, despair, dreams, reality, creation, destruction, delight, delirium…they’re almost, in a way, like people.

A toast, to stories and their wondrous natures.

Identity. Let’s say your name is Bob Smith. If for whatever reason you couldn’t be called Bob Smith tomorrow, would you care? How much of our internal identity is tied to our name? If you’re not “Bob Smith,” who are you?