Wednesday, January 30, 2008
CP the video star!
I have a post up at one of my sister sites about my infintessimally brief stint as a music video extra. Just so you know.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
"Liberal Fascism"
PMI on how to review Jonah Goldberg's new book.
Kinda NSFW.
Kinda disturbing.
Way bemusing.
I think it says all I have to say on the topic.
Kinda NSFW.
Kinda disturbing.
Way bemusing.
I think it says all I have to say on the topic.
24, '94-style
Volokh Conspiracy has the scoop on the original pilot for "24", dating back to 1994, when AOL ruled the 'net and savvy government agents carried pagers.
The Oscars leave me behind, once again
Of all the movies in the latest Oscar nominations, I've seen exactly four of them:
Seriously, though, I'm pulling for "Bourne" for film editing--based on what little I know of the subject, that part of the film kicked ass (think high-speed fight scenes). On the other hand, I didn't like how the techno remix of Moby's "Extreme Ways" broke continuity with the first two films. Minor criticism, I guess.
- Charlie Wilson's War (Supporting Actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
- Ratatouille (Original screenplay, Animated feature, Original score, Sound editing, Sound mixing)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (Film editing)
- Transformers (Sound editing, Sound mixing, Visual effects)
Seriously, though, I'm pulling for "Bourne" for film editing--based on what little I know of the subject, that part of the film kicked ass (think high-speed fight scenes). On the other hand, I didn't like how the techno remix of Moby's "Extreme Ways" broke continuity with the first two films. Minor criticism, I guess.
What generation are you?
The whole Baby Boomer/Generation X/Generation Doofus nomenclature has always struck me as just a marketing tool, especially since so many people seem to be barely left out of categorization. My parents, born in 1944 and 1945, missed inclusion in the Baby Boom (beginning in 1946). I was born in 1974, and it was unclear for quite a while whether I fit into Generation X or not. Now generation labels are thrown around all over the place.
Here's an interesting test to determine your generation based on technology usage rather than date of birth--it makes more sense to group avid Wii-players together than just people born between Year A and Year B. As an example, I was at Ikea a few weeks ago and was mystified by a teenage girl who, while examining fabric samples and talking to her mother, was furiously writing text messages ("texting," as the kids say) on her phone at a remarkable rate. It seemed like super-human multitasking.
Apparently, though, I fall on the high end of tech savviness, as the quiz puts me firmly in Generation Y (18 points!). Chronologically, I'm near the end of Generation X, though.
I wore through a Nirvana cassette in high school and once broke a closet rod because of all the plaid flannel shirts I owned--that must merit inclusion in Generation X, right? Plus, I think a great many recent technological advances are stupid (HD television, mostly--a topic I'll expound upon in a later post.) I feel more Generation X than Y (although I never participated in a mosh pit), so maybe I'll just split the difference and say I'm part of Generation X.5.
Join us. We have coffee.
Here's an interesting test to determine your generation based on technology usage rather than date of birth--it makes more sense to group avid Wii-players together than just people born between Year A and Year B. As an example, I was at Ikea a few weeks ago and was mystified by a teenage girl who, while examining fabric samples and talking to her mother, was furiously writing text messages ("texting," as the kids say) on her phone at a remarkable rate. It seemed like super-human multitasking.
Apparently, though, I fall on the high end of tech savviness, as the quiz puts me firmly in Generation Y (18 points!). Chronologically, I'm near the end of Generation X, though.
I wore through a Nirvana cassette in high school and once broke a closet rod because of all the plaid flannel shirts I owned--that must merit inclusion in Generation X, right? Plus, I think a great many recent technological advances are stupid (HD television, mostly--a topic I'll expound upon in a later post.) I feel more Generation X than Y (although I never participated in a mosh pit), so maybe I'll just split the difference and say I'm part of Generation X.5.
Join us. We have coffee.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Cloverfield and disaster porn
I haven't seen Cloverfield yet, but I'm sure I will at some point. The History Channel's "Life After People" premieres tonight, too. It gets me wondering--and I have no answer to this question--what it is about the destruction of familiar landmarks in movies that is so dang entertaining.
A few examples include Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and Armageddon/Deep Impact, a nice compilation of which is found here:
Think of it as disaster porn: the "money shot," if you will, of all these movies is the mega-CGI scenes of destruction and mayhem. Maybe we as a culture just need to be repeatedly desensitized after events like 9/11 and Katrina, and watching NYC get blown up/flooded/smashed by a monster/inundated by leprechauns is the way to do it.
Or maybe we're just a nation full of assholes. Hard to tell. Anyway, I prefer the much more sober, survival-against-all-odds Battlestar Galactica over fluff like Armageddon.
And besides, the spoilers about the Cloverfield monster make it look pretty silly.
A few examples include Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and Armageddon/Deep Impact, a nice compilation of which is found here:
Think of it as disaster porn: the "money shot," if you will, of all these movies is the mega-CGI scenes of destruction and mayhem. Maybe we as a culture just need to be repeatedly desensitized after events like 9/11 and Katrina, and watching NYC get blown up/flooded/smashed by a monster/inundated by leprechauns is the way to do it.
Or maybe we're just a nation full of assholes. Hard to tell. Anyway, I prefer the much more sober, survival-against-all-odds Battlestar Galactica over fluff like Armageddon.
And besides, the spoilers about the Cloverfield monster make it look pretty silly.
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