Monthly Archives: August 2009
Disney + Marvel
So Disney just bought Marvel for $4 Billion dollars. Thoughts?
Marvel, of course, has been struggling a bit since the collapse of the comic book bubble in the late 90′s. It’s movies, which I believe was constituting most of its profits the last decade, have been mixed. Yes Spiderman and Iron Man did fantastic. Other venues, such as The Punisher, have been far more mixed.
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Band of Skulls – Live
There are times, just a few as a rule, where a great band gets slated to play in a venue where it really has no business playing. You know, Nirvana gets contractually obligated to play the Puyallup fair, or U2 ends up playing at Kilby Court because no one in Utah has heard The Unforgettable Fire yet. Read the rest of this entry
Snow Leopard: Yeah or Nay?
So Apple’s Snow Leopard comes out tomorrow. I had mine pre-ordered via Amazon but they are only shipping starting Friday. Which means I’d have got it on Tuesday. So I cancelled the order and will pick it up from the local Apple shop.
This is an upgrade without the “gee whiz” features of previous editions. It’s mainly cleaning things up, making things faster and smaller, and eliminating the beachball of terror that crops up in many apps. (Finder and Safari, I’m looking at you)
New York, I Love You
Looks like an interesting and potentially cool fall movie. Read the rest of this entry
Big Man Japan
Since we’re talking movies, let me tell you about the best movie I’ve seen in awhile: Big Man Japan!
At first glance, it looks like a Godzilla movie with a giant human instead of Godzilla fighting the monsters.
It pretty much is. But it’s a lot more than that, too.
It’s awesome. Read the rest of this entry
Inglourious Basterds
Quick review since no one has commented on it yet.
First, don’t think of it as a “historic” movie. Think of it as a movie about movies. You’ll enjoy it more. (I suppose there have been enough spoilers about the second half so everyone knows this)
Second, realize it’s much more Tarantino’s riff on European cinema than American war movies. (Probably half the dialog is in French or German with subtitles)
Third, yes, Christoph Waltz is that good as “the Jew Hunter.” While it’s too early to say he’ll win, I think an Oscar nomination goes without saying.
Fourth, the whole plot is more Tarantino dealing with how movies about WWII tend to mythologize it and he’s just taking it to its obvious conclusions. Of course historically (and unfortunately) the Allies really didn’t care about the atrocities to the Jews. A lot of that mythology started developing into the 60′s until now it’s part of the American mind about WWII. This film can be seen as “what if that were true?” In part, of course.
Funny People
I saw this movie last weekend but since it has been out for a while now, instead of a traditional review, I’d like to talk generally about the body of work of the writer, producer and director of the movie, Judd Apatow. Read the rest of this entry
xGPS for the iPhone
(Crossposted to Clark’s Tech Blog)
A short review of the xGPS. As I mentioned in my Jailbreak post this is one of the best reasons to jailbreak your iPhone. While my posts on jailbreaking make it seem like Linux at it’s worst, that’s more because I’m interested in doing some useful scripting of the phone. Few would want to do that. However if you simply want some “unauthorized” apps that could never make it past Apple’s draconian AppStore rules then jailbreaking is a great idea. You basically download an application, plug in your phone, and click a button. You then click a button on your phone and suddenly you have a second app store. In there you’ll find xGPS in a prominent location and it’s easy to get running. Nothing technical about it really.
First let me talk about my comparison. I’ve used Google Maps on the iPhone for a year to run around. Then last fall I bought G-Map US West for a trip to the Bay Area (since there is little internet coverage in the Nevada desert and because AT&T coverage is only slightly better in San Francisco). The big news this week was Tom Tom’s release. I’ve not used it and can’t imagine paying $100 for it. However I’ve read many reviews.
Live/Album Review: The Fruit Bats' The Ruminant Band
Last night I saw The Fruit Bats in concert at the Crocodile in Seattle. The Fruit Bats, in case you were unaware, has Eric Johnson (of Shins fame) as its frontman; their music ranges from Shins-esque to 70′s Southern Rock.
It was a night of tranquil swaying and toe-tapping, music perfect for a summer evening. Read the rest of this entry
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