Archive for July, 2010

 

Scott Pilgrim vs. Scott Pilgrim – 29. July, 2010

Sorry I haven’t written more this week but right now I have a night gig, in addition to my day gig, where I’m supposed to install a server, set up network storage and allow any user to authenticate from any machine but I’ve run into a hitch: users can’t login.

Oh yeah, also, I’ve never done this before and I know nothing about network administration.

(How I ended up with this gig is for another post.)

Therefore I’m quickly steering ya towards something that caught my eye. Have you ever heard of Scott Pilgrim? It’s a comic series I’ve been aware of but know nothing about (my theme of the week).

They’re making a movie and it looks, well…

It’s Edgar Wright directing so it has a ton of potential but that trailer… but maybe I’m wrong. My buddy Pat used to always say, “terrible trailer = great movie.”

What looks more interesting to me is this:

Now that looks fun.

Okay, enough writing. Back to the salt mines.

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Gimmie More Streams – 22. July, 2010

Goddamn those Euros, I’m so jealous they’re getting this!

A bit of background to help you understand my response. First, I don’t subscribe to cable. It’s a cost I cut a long time ago and I don’t really miss it. Then television got great. Suddenly I was hooked on shows like VERONICA MARS and FRINGE; my latest addiction is MAD MEN (I blame my former roommate for that).

For a while it seemed that for $1.99 iTunes could give me what I needed but damn if those files aren’t huge and season passes are expensive (and what if the show starts sucking?). Hulu seemed like the answer. Just a couple of problems: the window of viewing and the window for viewing. A couple weeks of “nose to the grindstone” and I end up with 20+ hours of NBC sitcoms and Fox animation I wanted to watch but they’re expiring in 14 hours.  Plus I was locked into watching episodes on my laptop. Sure, I could always get the DVDs from Netflix but…

But then Netflix introduced streaming on the PS3 and it was as if a whole new world opened up to me.  Suddenly I could follow my whim and watch a movie or a documentary or an episode of KING OF THE HILL and all I had to do was start buffering while I cooked dinner.  I consider that a big win but instantly I wanted more.  I wanted more than a handful of THE OFFICE episodes and why do I still have to use that stupid disc?

So when I heard that Hulu was offering a paid service that would show current shows and allow access to their back catalog, I was interested. When I learned that I’d be able to do this on my PS3, which is hooked up to a sweet TV, I immediately signed up for an invite.

(Still waiting for that invite.)

So obviously I’m excited for streaming services that let me view quality content via my PS3. Therefore, it should be obvious that a film nut like me wants a service showing Criterion like programming (plus I’m dying for something to tear me away from BORDERLANDS). Those are the movies I love, the kind I need to be watching, discovering.

Here’s hoping Mubi & Sony make this happen in North America.

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Seeking Great Film Websites – 21. July, 2010

Today I met with a good friend and web designer. We ate, we caught up, we talked about my web needs. What web needs you say?

  1. I have a site, my professional site, and it could use a redesign.
  2. I’d like to tie the design of this blog to that of my site. Let’s call it a new coat of paint.
  3. Finally, I need a website for my film. That’s a “from the ground up” job.

If she can do this, great.  If not, she can point me towards competent folk.  This is exciting. I love getting the creative juices going.

So now I have to develop a creative brief, an “information architecture“, and show some samples of what I’m looking for. I really like the sites for Psyop, Hammer & Tongs, Hillman Curtis and Ruben Fleischer. They all employ a clean and logical design but still retain the spirit of their respective artists. I also like the ONE TOO MANY MORNINGS site if only because it has just about everything a film like mine might need in a site w/o a lot of clutter.

Which brings us to the interactive portion of this post. What are some well designed sites you like? They don’t have to be film sites, just a site that really works.

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Europe 2010 Wrap Up – 20. July, 2010

What’s the best part about going to Europe for 30+ days? Coming home.

No, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy my trip. I f**king loved it. Florence and Paris were my favorite cities. I think I spent a week in Florence and I could go back to spend another week eating all those amazing Steaks Florentine and all that phenomenal gelato.

As for Paris, I only spent a couple of days there but I’d love to go back for a month. That city has an energy, something like New York. And the women… oh God the women are… yeah, I think I’m gonna marry one… if I ever get married (but that’s another discussion).

Cinque Terre was beautiful in a way I can’t describe. Here’s the best I can do: the water, it’s so blue and clear that you can see the bottom of the sea floor 20 feet below. Yeah, I know, that doesn’t do it justice.

Rome was okay. There was one magical meal at a farmer’s market I stumbled into but otherwise I really wasn’t feeling it. The same goes for Milan. I was bummed that I didn’t get to see the Guggenheim but otherwise I’m not going back to Venice until I have a serious girlfriend or a fiance or a wife.

Prague, that’s the one that got away. I stayed on the Avenida Revolucion of Prague and it sucked. I’d love to go back but 1) I’d like to go with someone that’s been there before and 2) I want to stay somewhere quieter, nicer.

Obviously I loved Europe. I want to go back. I want to travel more; I think Asia should be next, maybe back to South America. So why was coming home the best part? Because going away for so long gave me a clarity, a perspective I’d lost about my life. I can see the bulls**t for what it is. And I’m tried of dealing with bulls**t.

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Europe 2010 Pics – 19. July, 2010

The great thing about going away is that it allows me to return to routine with a renewed enegery and a refreshed perspective.  I can reconnect with that original desire, or not come back at all.  And so I return to the blog but not before sharing my European vacation slideshow with you.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you more about the trip.

Ciao.

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