While “Watchmen” was a powerful movie, it was most certainly not as significant to its medium (film) as the “Watchmen” comic was to its own.

But I’ll argue that there’s just no way for a groundbreaking book to be made into a groundbreaking movie. Take The Lord of The Rings, for example. The films are powerful adaptations of one of the most important works of 20th century literature, but they themselves are not among the most important works of film. (Well… they were groundbreaking, in that nothing that large had been attempted before, but I digress…)

But that doesn’t mean I was at all disappointed by “Watchmen” on the big screen. It was amazing. (But it probably will not be my #1 movie of the year.)

I was wrong. I didn’t think the “Watchmen” movie could do the book justice.

It did the book justice. It may have even improved on it in spite of (or perhaps thanks to) certain missing elements.
potential spoilers

I’ve been aggressively low-carbing and appetite-suppressing since mid-January, and it has been working. I’m down about four or five notches on my belt, about 1% or 2% body-fat, and my weight is down 8 pounds from my high of 190, and my average weight (the “center point” around which it seems to fluctuate during the week) is down 5 pounds from 188.

Oh, and the cholesterol test I took on Wednesday came back at 160.

I’m feeling great.

Last night I ate out at Bangkok Grill in Orem (800 S State, on the east side of State and the south side of 800 — you REALLY need to eat there if you haven’t) with a bunch of local pros and friends. My stomach seems to be smaller than it used to be. I overate, yes (it’s still quite hard not to) but I hit the “I have overeaten” feeling far, far sooner than usual.

My goal: By the time any of you non-Utah folk actually see me again (WorldCon in August, Self-Syndication Seminar in September) I want to weigh in at a trim-no-wait-that’s-actually-svelte 160.

My buddy Bob has been podcasting his book “Death by Cliché” and running a slice of Jonathan Coulton’s “Skullcrusher Mountain” during the credits at the end of each episode. This is acceptable use under the terms of the Creative Commons that Coulton uses instead of copyright, or so Bob tells me.

Today I got sick of hearing just the first verse and chorus, so I spent 99 cents on the song.

It’s 99 cents I wouldn’t have spent without repeated exposure. It’s only the third Jonathan Coulton song I’ve spent money on. It’s also my new favorite, displacing his “Still Alive” contribution to the Orange Box.

Moral of the story: people will pay for stuff that they can get for free. Not that anybody reading my blog doubts that. I’m making a living that way, after all.

Oh… favorite lyric from “Skullcrusher Mountain” (which you should at least LISTEN to, if not purchase outright):
“Isn’t it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?”

There’s a Valentine’s Day sentiment we can all get behind, I’m sure. Just don’t use too many monkeys.