Crystal Light On the Go

If you have to drink a large quantity of water during the day, or are just trying to up your hydration, the taste of plain water can get pretty old pretty fast. For those times when you just can't stand another swig, Crystal Light On the Go flavor packets can help you get through your required daily allotment of water.

These single-serving packets come in a variety of flavors, from iced tea to fruit mixes. However, be sure to look for the additives. Following the trend of adding various vitamin supplements to everything, several varieties have additions for immunity, energy, and other goals. The energy drinks, though, are caffeinated, so if you have a sensitivity to caffeine, this won't be a good choice. They also contain aspartame, so be aware of that, as well.

G1 Apps--Tag To Do

When consolidating your electronic devices onto your phone, a To Do list is essential. The Android Marketplace offers several, of which Tag To Do has become my list-maker of choice.

Tag To Do allows you to make multiple to do lists based on varying categories--work, home, grocery list, etc. Within each individual list, you can assign priorities and/or due dates. When an item reaches its due date, the application sends a message that appears in the notification area of the phone to let you know the date has arrived and you haven't checked off the item as done.

This combination of flexibility and notification makes Tag To Do a useful tool for anyone trying to keep themselves organized. Best of all, it's free.

Watchmen--The Movie

After a great deal of hype and a legal battle that threatened to derail it entirely, the movie adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen finally hit theaters this weekend. Although if you weren't aware of the original comic, you wouldn't know it was Alan Moore's Watchmen, because Moore refused to take any money for the adaptation, nor did he allow his name to be attached to the film.

Considering the quality of the movie, it seems a bit odd that Moore would distance himself so intently from it, but I suppose that's his prerogative. The script proves very faithful--sometimes even too faithful--to the original material, even including frame-by-frame reproductions of parts of the comic.

The weaknesses regarding the story's women are still there, though the ending, which came off as a bit ridiculous in the graphic novel, has been tweaked to fit much more smoothly into the feel of the rest of the story.

The weakest part of the movie is, conversely, the strongest part of the comic. While Dr. Manhattan's ruminations on his "all times are the same" mental processes in the comic are masterfully rendered, in the movie they're somewhat confusing and slow down an otherwise fast-paced film.

Performance-wise, Watchmen is a bit weak. The strongest showing comes from Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as the amoral Comedian, who carries those parts of the film in which he appears. A close second is Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan.

T-Mobile's G-1 Google Phone

Okay, technically it's an Android phone, with obligatory cute little green android dude for a mascot. But regardless of what you call it, once I caved in and bought one, it was love at first text message.

Having test-driven an iPhone a few months ago, I was quite consumed with lust for one of those. However, acquiring an iPhone meant I'd have to change my provider, and I wasn't sure I wanted to do that. AT&T does have slightly better coverage in my area, but when I visited the T-Mobile store, they gave me a pretty good deal to renew my nearly-expired contract, so I decided to stick with them.

In retrospect, I'm glad I did. I actually like the G1 better than the iPhone. The snap-out keyboard is much easier for me to use than the touchpad on the iPhone, or the G1 touchpad, for that matter. The volume on the phone is excellent--better than the Nokia flip-phone I upgraded from--and the selection of apps is quite good.

Overall, I'm very happy with the G1, and you will pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Watchmen--Graphic Novel

The Watchmen graphic novel is largely known as a watershed moment in the development of comics. Reading it twenty years later, this impact is largely lost, since nearly every major comic on the shelves today has been influenced by the gritty, dark, amoral qualities Alan Moore brought to his complex, alternate reality world.

The strength of the storytelling, though, does hold up. And Moore's problematic treatment of women is probably emphasized by the intervening twenty years, during which time more and more folks of the female persuasion have become involved in the comics world, both as readers and creators.

Perhaps most impressive is Moore's handling of the alternating flashback storyline, and the strongest section, narratively speaking, is Dr. Manhattan's reflections while on Mars. The structure of the story wanders, going from whodunit to a much more complex approach that in the end almost ignores the idea of the murder mystery.

The most problematic part of the book, though, is the female characters. Sally Jupiter's supposed "romance" with the Comedian is offensive to many, stemming as it does from an attempted rape. And Silk Spectre has little personality, her character largely defined by her relationships with Dr. Manhattan and Nite Owl. Visually, the ending is a bit jarring, and doesn't quite mesh with the "feel" of the rest of the book.

In spite of its flaws, though, Watchmen remains deserving of its status as a classic.