Ramblings of a Technology Addict

Monday, December 30, 2002

Survival of the Consumers....

First off let me just say the following: God Bless Internet Shopping. I've been reminded why I absolutely, positively hate shopping malls. They are crowded, they are very loud, they are more chaotic than a Windows 95 install, and the "mall smell" gives me a headache that is just brutally unbearable. Honestly, if malls ever want to win me back as a primary customer they will have to do the following: remove all screaming children, shutdown the perfumeries in the department stores and makeup stores, install noise dampening measures, offer to shoot people that piss me off.
I don't have to deal with that when I shop at gap.com or amazon.com or any other online effort. Granted, I appreciate the need to try clothing on, that I can understand, but good golly, folks, this is ridiculous. Why bother with a mall when I've got the ability to fire up Chimera and get the same thing, possibly cheaper, shipped to me.
For the love...
8:29:10 PM  comment []

Monday Morning Linkages...

Another great weekend, well, mostly great, and it's time for Monday Morning Links!
...A little while back, I posted on the outrage of a gentleman who felt his wife was harrased by TSA. This, through the power of the blogworld (dammit, I'm not saying blogistan!), has been taken a few steps further by some inquisitive individuals with networks. Links via [Boing Boing]
...Chino County in Southern California is using Apple's new E-Backpack program to distribute homework according to MacMinute. Sounds cool to me.
...Wired News has an article on Switching ISPs which we all know can be a royal pain. Enclosed is the latest piece of good news: in November, 2003, we'll be able to retain our cell numbers even if we switch providers. This is wonderful. As we grow more and more attached to wireless communications through cell phones, the more people will have them, and removing the barriers to switching carriers and losing connectivity (ie., new phone number and the problem of dissemination, etc) will fall!
...Techdirt provides this great article on the death of the payphone, really, when was the last time you used a payphone?
...Cinergy field came down this weekend, as CNN shows here. Having been to a few Reds game, I can definitely say that I am not at all nostalgic for Cinergy Field, née Riverfront Stadium. Big, concrete, astroturf-laden and ugly, this stadium was a nightmare to go see game in. You had to get passes to go down by the field during batting practice. Such fascism was not meant for baseball, even post 9/11! Down with Cinergy Field, Up with Baseball! Link via [MeFi]
...Discussion on MeFi has been raging over the idea of a mandatory draft for all Americans. This has been something of an issue in my family for some time. My brother is currently enlisted in the Navy, my father was enlisted in the Navy during Vietnam, my uncle Tom in the Marine Corps during Vietnam, service runs deep in the family. Universal Service Requirements might not be a bad idea, but mandatory military service misses the boat.
...another review of Bowling for Columbine, this time from the land down under. Worth a read, kids. Best quote: "Moore himself plays the Dorothy the Dinosaur role, clumsily loping about in pursuit of Bad Guys. It's a kid flick for the adult anti-American market." or perhaps..."Writing about Columbine without addressing its flaws is like writing about Michael Jackson without mentioning that these days he looks like an albino bat."
...the end of MacWorld? As I'm going to next week's MacWorld San Francisco, I definitely appreciate the shows enough to travel for them, but I can't say that I would totally miss their presence. So long as Jobs does the keynotes for WWDC and something additional in the fall/winter, I think that's just fine. We need the "State of the Mac" address every so often, though, because we're still a community and not a vacuum. The expos are great for selling stuff and sharing experience, but I think their time may finally have come up.
Have a great Monday folks!
11:06:32 AM  comment []

On Adaptation

This weekend, my brother Erik, my girlfriend Tiffany and I went to go see Adaptation, the new movie from Charlie Kaufman (screenplay) and Spike Jonze (director). First let me say, this is the best movie I have seen this year, and possibly in a long time. But not for the reasons that it's getting such critical acclaim.
This movie is everything it's not supposed to be, and that's the best part about it. This movie is about self in such a narcissistic, self-aggrandizing way that can be imagined: the scriptwriter is in fact, writing the script about himself writing this particular script. We open with Charlie Kaufman (played by Nicholas Cage in his first decent role in a very long time) on the set of Being John Malkovich looking uncomfortable and in the shot. We see him stepping through the paces of life as a creative genius, but very afraid, of rejection, of failure, of the absurdity of his own life. I have, many times in my life, shared that very fear.
Life as one of the fringe parts of society: creative, but not attractive, is not the easiest of things. There are lots of times that I end up feeling timid, like I don't belong, like I'm ending up somewhere I'm not talented enough to be. These things resonate with me on a deeply visceral level. Cage's portrayal of Charlie was very much a mirror to my own life a lot of the time. I know that I have some talent, but I'm so afraid that it's all an illusion, that when I blink it will go away, that a lot of Charlie's fear, and worse, his contempt for his brother Donald (played also by Nicholas Cage), who represents Charlie, but without both the inhibitions and fear, as well as the deep respect for craft and talent, are some of my own fears. It made the movie almost painful to watch in places.
But the movie itself takes differing turns, adds a degree of certifiability that I just loved, overall, it was a great movie. It became about the change in people, despite Charlie's desire for it not to be about that. It became the clichéd Hollywood movie almost unintentionally, (well, can anything ever been unintentional in acting?) and grew into the movie it didn't want to be, but because of it. It got me thinking: we all have paths in life. We all walk the path. When I started to read the Tao Te Ching two years ago, my life was a lot less clear. The Tao provided me with a faith that walking the path, not knowing where it was going, heading ever forward, was the way life was to be. Trudging on, taking risks, finding peace and passion, those were all part of the Tao.
So, yes, Adaptation is about self. Whether or not it wants to really be about Susan Orlean's book about orchids is totally peripheral. The jokes, the hollywood mockings, the failure, the fear, the masturbation, the late nights staring at typewriters, these are all real things. And that is why Adaptation is so good, it understands that the small things are real, especially in the screenplay, no matter how recursive.
9:27:58 AM  comment []

Dark Morning

Okay, just a quickie before I hit the showers here today, this lack of light when I get out of bed is so frustrating. I miss the sun! Bring back the sun! At least the days are lengthening.
7:05:56 AM  comment []