I whole heartedly agree this UI trend must stop. It makes OS X look like Vista. I guess that's why they touted the Windows native look and feel.
People with the smaller monitors have been complaining that with tabs there is less screen space. That's what Expose is for. Open new window without the tab bar. Switch via Expose (or cmd-~). But just suck it up and wonder why you have a tiny screen. Upgrade bitches!
Oh when you walk by every night Talking sweet and looking fine I get kind of hectic inside Oh baby I'm so into you Darling if you only knew All the things that flow through my mind But it's just a Sweet sweet fantasy baby
I've never read Love Hina. I've heard good things about it. It's a harem manga and kami-sama knows how cliched they could be. I might pick it up after reading how it makes otaku swoon. I'm sucker for harem manga (Ichigo 100% is straight up harem), but I hope the guy is no doofus (in Ichigo 100% that guy's frustrating) so that I'm not yelling at him every few pages.
The car was in the shop. Something about the catalytic converter. The other car is just plain past its useful life. Both left me with the only option of public transportation to get to work. Cram with the poor slobs who can't afford a car. Those suckers. That's me for the day, hopefully.
Packed my lunch -- cup ramen and a coke. The lunch of true sad sacks everywhere. Took a jacket with me to keep the morning chill away. At the bus stop, the crazy lady with cats mumbles to herself about picking up more kitty litter. I scoot over just a smidge then decide to stand up and pace.
I light myself a smoke. Two inhales and the bus is there. Only a quarter hour until I get to the metro station. Joy!
I watch the blocks go by. There's slightly less traffic on the bus route, and I can watch the people wake up. There's a man at the back who's got a hard hat on his lap and a daughter seated next to him. The cat lady mumbles at the well manicured gentleman who shifts slightly in his seat. He points his knees away. Two students asleep in the front. Another father and his daughter watch the cars go by the window. It's just people figuring out when to get off.
Here's my stop at the metro. I pay my ticket from the automated machine out front. Climb the escalator to the platform. The people are still milling about as the first train pulls in. Not mine.
I get on the next one and find a seat facing crazy cat lady. She's now mumbling at her feet. She's wearing galoshes on this sunny day. She may know something I don't. Then I catch a glimpse of navy, and my day becomes perfect.
There's no word in English to describe the feeling. There's probably no word in myriads of languages perhaps the Inuits can. It's the electric feeling you get as you come face to face with beauty. Even these words don't do that justice.
And now I know why people cram into these confined spaces. It's the people you can meet.
I don't say a word as I get off at my stop. Another 10 minutes and I'm at my desk. Yet, I'm still in the metro.
(Too much pressure) This pressure got to stop (Too much pressure) It's getting to my head (Too much pressure) They're giving me hard times (Too much pressure)
The International (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963178/) shows us how evil banks are. We don't need a movie for that just look at the headlines of newspapers. They want their cake and they want to eat it, too. They also want your cake, and they'll eat it off your fork, too. They feed off of us making use of our money for their own nefarious ways. It's no wonder that in today's troubling economic times bankers and financiers make for the perfect Dr. Evils. They are just that: pure evil.
The Interanational is a Tom Tykwer film. It has none of the pulse pounding drive of his famous, Run, Lola, Run. It's as if he deliberately meant to throttle down his style and make a mellow film. Almost too mellow at times. The film's style follows the need to make a thriller that harkens back to thrillers and intrigues from the 70s. Those films were more focused in telling a gripping tale. The International tries to be gripping, but in this day and age of flash and movement, the thrills don't come across as much.
You have to expect a slow boil until the plot is exposed. The film takes too long to get the plot anywhere and, once exposed, the plot is rather flimsy of a caper. I didn't understand what it was about. Just go to the governments and get your bailout money. Forget about being found out as plainly evil. Just pretend you're incompetent and you'll get as much money as humanly possible thrown your way.
The shootout in the Guggenhiem though blows this whole notion up. Slow boil? BANG! BANG! BANG! I dug this too. Lately, most movies when set in Europe have a look to them that screams Bourne Identity. Wasn't Clive Owen in the Bourne Identity? Didn't he save the world in Children of Men? Then let's make the film look Euro -- modern archtecture, cities, glass and steel. And the Gug is modern. One ramp up and down. BANG! BANG! BANG! It was shot like a shootout from the Bourne films. Loved it.
Also, I love how Naomi Watts looked in this. All lawyerly. And those sexy boots. And that grey scarf mixing in with her blonde hair. Mmmm. She can be my international anyday.
I had probably linked his predictions prior to our Oscar Pool, but Nate Silver does an analysis of where he went wrong. There's a comment there that congratulates him on missing only two. I think we all did just as good and we were picking names out of a hat. When I think back, it would've been just as well to have gone with the front runners. You would've nailed all them. And no, Sean Penn, wasn't a big surprise -- see Eddie Murphy in best supporting actor.
Coraline is a girl who finds out that life in a fantasy world where everything is better than her reality isn't better at all. The pitfalls in the fantasy world are just as deadly, and the love isn't love but smothering. So she grows up and accepts her reality, and that is just how things go.
I dug this animated film. I'm a little bit sick and tired of CG animation, because that's what the animation industry for feature films will become. Coraline is stop-motion animation. It gave a tactile feel to the works -- a little bit of 3D. The herky-jerky motion also was fun as it was a reminder that we're watching a film. I wish for more diverse forms of animation from Hollywood, but know that I won't get it the way I like it.
So it's late night after the show. I forgot about Jimmy Kimmel, but spent the later part of the midnight drinking a cherry coke and tabulating results. I bet you're all on edge. But first, let me thank the academy, my mom and dad, the producers, the craftspeople, rod and ness and most of all the seed for live blogging the telecast. He did a bang up job with the blow by blow. Read it and experience our night at the oscars.
Oh yeah I forgot. Thanks for all my participants: the seed, CapSwell, riss, dace, Marge, Annie, and Wyman. You make it fun.
Winner of the Special Jury Prize of picking the most 1 pointers: Annie!!! She does by being the only one to pick the live action short and the foreign film and by being one of two with the correct choice in costume. She takes it with 10 points! Most of the rest of us had 6! Good job.
She gets to choose any of the animated feature films on DVD!
Runner up is Wyman! 24 points! He ruled the two pointers in the early evening, but was only average in the others. Could've gone his way, but for Sean Penn.
He gets his choice of the best picture nominees.
The winner and still reigning champion, riss! 26 points! Sean Penn FTW! Congratulations. How the heck do you get so good?
She gets her choice of any nominated film. I hope I can find it for her!
The rest of us suck. It's later than I want it to be, so we'll find out more rankings tomorrow. As a whole we did pretty well. Only categories we missed completely were best supporting actress and animated short. Woohoo good job.
"I get a ticket, I pay it. You get a ticket, you pay it. They get a ticket, they don't pay no ticket, and that's why these free-loading foreign diplomats should be dragged out of their cars and beaten like the renegade outlaws they are."
Bill McNeal (Phil Hartman), NewsRadio, "French Diplomacy"
We're going into the weekend and it looks like the ballots are set. Hope everyone is making the right choices. Good luck.
View the current entries. Hopefully, I've hidden your email addrs from everyone so that you don't get that crazy spam I've been getting wherein I complain about the tightness of my shorts.
I forgot to mention that the cycling season is starting to ramp up. Here's a shot from this year's Tour of California. It's Tom Boonen running the TT. I just love this guy.
I was looking for a field sprint, but it seems the photogs on Flickr don't have too many shots of a stage finish. So, here's Boonen cranking for decent TT finish.
If you look at the 2009 Tour of California starting line up, you'll find an amazing mass of professionals. Besides the Belgian rocket, Boonen, you'll see Lance Armstrong suited up for Astana as he begins his climb back into the professional cycling saddle. You have Levi Leipheimer leading this years tour. Then you have the british sprint phenom, Mark Cavendish, taking wins in field sprints. Boonen stop this guy! Lots of Americans: Hincapie, Landis, Hamilton (Aren't these guys banned for using banned substances?) It's actually a monster Tour. I should've set my Tivo.
I can't believe I forgot to post about the technical Oscar awards. These are better than Sunday's broadcast because it's all about the nerdy stuff. And it's hosted, lately, by a hottie. This year's host was Jessica Biel. Yeah! She's pretty hot! But not comparable to when Rachel McAdams hosted it a few years back.
Time's running out. Get your vote in. There's just 5 of us, but 3 prizes! You could be a winner.
CapSwell took his chance and changed his vote. Good luck with the new. I'm gonna track your old ones too just to see how well your second guesses helped.
There's a concensus forming around best picture: Slumdog Millionaire, FTW, and Danny Boyle winning best director is also unanimous. And who can not root against the dead, Heath Ledger is also penciled in as a lock. It's rumored that his daughter will accept the award on his behalf and she'll be played off the stage by the orchestra. I can't wait to see that.
Most of the other categories have different choices. It seems most everyone, except me, likes Jai Ho for Original Song. I picked O saya. I just listed to it on my iPhone. It sucks. Maybe I should resubmit.
Anyway. Here's the major links to this endeavor...
I'm onto my second one, because on the first the rubber around the earbuds became frayed and fell off making wearing them uncomfortable. The second pair is a newer update. It's rubberized coating around the wire makes it less likely to tangle. It's a fine pair, but they too are starting to fray at the earbuds.
My main criteria will be cost. Again, I'm on my second set and I've had the iPhone for two years. I can't imagine spending $150 for earphones and then losing them. Or that they suck.
And they still need to have the inline remote. That is awesome.
Nope. Still got nothing for you guys. Here's a site about giraffes. They're cute when six foot seven, but very deadly at seven foot six and beyond. I'm making this stuff up. Again, I'm just linking the first link from google.
I'm bored. I don't have anything for you today. Here's something about pandas. I haven't read the site. I just grabbed the top search from google. And I did see that they're almost related to raccoons so there you go...
We're just a week away. And the number of submissions have doubled! I submitted mine last night trusting on my gut to get me a win. (I'm not really gonna take the prizes, but only the satisfaction of the win). Marge from the FishTank also submitted last night.
If you have second thoughts on your submission, the rules allow for you to submit as many up until the polls close midnight on Sunday. Your last submission will be your official one. So if you happen to study up on the winners, go ahead and resubmit.
PS Feel free to share the fun with friends and family. I don't think I reached everyone who wanted to participate.
Of course, on a day like this, it had to be about Thanatos, the god of death. He's a young guy with wings, and he goes about indiscriminately taking the lives of fools. Do not blame him for he awaits all of us.
"I know we've only known each other four weeks and three days, but to me it seems like nine weeks and five days. The first day seemed like a week and the second day seemed like five days. And the third day seemed like a week again and the fourth day seemed like eight days. And the fifth day you went to see your mother and that seemed just like a day, and then you came back and later on the sixth day, in the evening, when we saw each other, that started seeming like two days, so in the evening it seemed like two days spilling over into the next day and that started seeming like four days, so at the end of the sixth day on into the seventh day, it seemed like a total of five days. And the sixth day seemed like a week and a half. I have it written down, but I can show it to you tomorrow if you want to see it."
You know of my love of battleships. And you know I'm in my crazy otaku, anime, manga phase. For the last 3 months, because I've throttled back my netflix account, I've ben watching the anime Zipang. It posits a modern Aegis Guided Missile Destroyer, DDG-182 Mirai, that travels back in time into the middle of World War II. The crew and her ship find themselves in the middle of the Battle of Midway, they find themselves in the middle of the Battle for Guadalcanal, and they find themselves in the middle of changing the future. Will they be able to get back to their time?
Today's link takes you to the manga for Zipang in the Weekly Morning magazine. It's all in Japanese, but there's some cool stuff there like the pictures of the Mirai. They also have some statistics on the ship itself. I like the fact that they are using the MK41 Vertical Launching System. What a cool show!
The categories are weighted: some are worth 3 points, others 2 points and the majority are worth 1 point.
The winner is the one with most points at the end of the telecast.
There are 40 points total.
In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker is the player who comes closest to but not over the number of people in the US who watched the telecast.
If after the first tie-breaker, then I pick names from a hat.
One entry per contestant.
Since the google form I am using allows multiple entries. I must insist that your last submission before the telecast will be your official submission. Think before submitting.
Polls close Sunday, Feb 22 @ 12:00 AM.
This is the point breakdown structure:
Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress: 3 points each (15 total)
Best Director, Animated Feature, Animated Short, Adapted Screenplay, Original Screenplay, and Art Direction: 2 points each (12 total)
The rest are worth 1 point each (13 total)
Total: 40 ((5*3) + (6*2) + 13)
Here's the Prizes: Grand Prize Winner receives his/her choice of a DVD of any of the 2009 nominees. Second Prize Winner receives his/her choice of any of the Best Pictures nominees DVDs. Special Jury Prize receives his/her choice of any of the Best Animated Feature nominees DVDs.
**** UPDATE **** DVD == any media that the film comes in (i.e DVD, VHS, Beta, digital download, torrent, Blue Ray, etc.)
Grand Prize Winner is the highest scorer. Second Prize Winner is the next highest scorer or second runner up after tie breaks. Special Jury Prize Winner is the one who scores highest in the categories worth 1 point.
While we wait for me to open up the voting, try your hand at losing real money by betting on the Oscars. It's up to you to decide, but sites such as today's link help distill the common wisdom of the bookie.
I'm already giving you prizes with no purchase necessary. I'm not gonna throw good money away on foolish choices. Then again, Heath Ledger winning best supporting actor is a lock, and you can take that to the bank.
Paul Krugman, I link to him almost weekly, hits it out of the park again. He excoriates the "centrists" of the Senate who doomed the stimulus bill to almost comical mediocrity. I just wish he named names. Collins (ME) *cough* Nelson (NE) *cough* Fools the both of them. Fools for believing them.
Obama's turn to the middle is terribly misguided. If I wanted some centrist ideology in my president, then I would've voted for Mrs. Clinton. There's nothing to gain in inviting Republicans to sing Kumbaya with you. They're busy sharpening their knives. You dance with them and you'll have a shiv in your back. The centrists are the ones playing the dance music.
The shrill one is back. Damn right, Paul. Damn right.
It's coming soon, Second Annual BrowserMetrics Oscar Pool. Mark your calendars because soon the ballots will be in your hand and it's up to you to figure out who deserves this years Oscars. This year there will be three prizes to entice you into joining. No purchase necessary to play. Just fill out your ballot which will be coming soon.
I'll leave it to last year's winner, riss, with the last word on why you should enter, "The best thing that happened to me all year!"
"It's time for Mr. Obama to go on the offensive. Above all, he must not shy away from pointing out that those who stand in the way of his plan, in the name of a discredited economic philosophy, are putting the nation's future at risk."
I for one think the Democrats should be explaining to the nation how deceptively evil Republican economic philosophy is. It's meant to cripple government, but since government is the only entity that can get us out of our current economic quagmire, it's meant to cripple the nation, and by doing so destroy her.
The dolts preach tax cuts in times of prosperity. They preach tax cuts in times of trouble. The fucks preach tax cuts for almost anything. Tax cuts will cure your cancer.
They abhor government spending. Aren't we trapped in this terrible economy because nobody wants to spend money on anything: businesses on employees, consumers on goods, banks on their debt. But who's going to do the spending now? Only the government can. It's capable of creating the jobs just look at the fucks of the righ-wing noise machine. Without government they'll only be howling about the weather.
My anger to this current affairs is because the Democrats and the president should be shouting from the rooftops about the discredited notions of Republican party. Eight fracking years and four before Clinton should be enough to make the case. The president should, and that's why this commity looking for bipartisanship is bogus. You shouldn't be friends with people who are outright batshit crazy.
Abe Lincoln was arguably the greatest president of the United States. He defeated those who wanted to destroy the Union, and placed the country on its path to greatness. If only the current president would defeat those who want to destroy the Union, then he would rise to the pantheon of those presidents who made the world a better place.
Read about the trials and tribulations of Lincoln as today's link examines a few portraits of this great man.
We all love coffee. We love it to death. So to celebrate, here's a classic Lisa/Dave exchange from NewsRadio and the classic Titanic episode.
Dave: I realized that there were some things in life that you can't find in the afterlife. Lisa Miller: Like love? Dave: No, coffee. Speaking of which, do you have any? Lisa Miller: Love? Dave: No, coffee. Lisa Miller: No, I don't. Sorry. Dave: Well, then what's the point?
Today's link of the day can also be today's quote of the day. It's so true in software development, even with the refactoring craze. Do it right the first time. Do it perfect the first time. You're never gonna get to it later on, unless it is THE SHOWSTOPPER.
Was it really just three weeks ago that hope was in the air? Now, you're playing with this idea of "bipartisanship" and it's killing you in helping to fix the economy. If you haven't realized in your two decades that Republicans are not meant to govern, I hope you realize it now as the economic stimulus bill stalls in the legislator. Republican governance means destroying the government. They do it be doing bad policy, and when out of lead roles, they do it by stopping anything from going forward. We're fucked and they like it that way.
I received one of those single serve coffee makers from my mom for Christmas. It's not like I didn't have a coffee pot at my house, but it was much appreciated. Making coffee is so much easier and making enough is better. I don't have to make and four cups. I make and drink enough for only me.
Everyday we get riled up. Mostly about the little things. Makes us stressed. Why exactly do we do it? It is living. So we turn to something fun. And that is SKA! Listen. Then get up and dance. And feel the riddims. It's infectious. It's sweet. It is living.
It's been awhile since I've posted about Miss Stanwyck. And it's been awhile since I've seen one of her films. The last was "Remember the Night" on Christmas break. I think I watched it several times then. Not as good as her turn in "The Lady Eve," but what would be? I think I'll catch her in "Double Indemnity" as the femme fatale with a bad wig or in "Ball of Fire" as the dame that wins Gary Cooper's heart. Anything to get my mind off of the weather and the day.
Why do we have this on our calendars? Did he see his shadow? Ain't it always six more weeks of winter? (Around March 20 being the spring equinox.) Sounds like another Hallmark holiday. Where can I get me my Groundhog's Day cards and to whom should I send them to?
Marge texted me yesterday if I wanted to go catch Paul Blart: Mall Cop, since I told her that I had wanted to watch it to see what all the fuss was about (tops B.O. 2 weeks in a row?!).
I'm sorry. It was the worst film I've seen in years. I really wanted to leave, but Marge kept me there. ;P
I need to post this review for posterity: "Shit sandwich."
1 of 5 stars. (1 star is the floor. I don't posts zeroes.)
The island riddims take on Take 5 is always interesting. If you can seek out the true reagea version alternatively titled, "The Soviets are Coming" I think this is its dub.
