Recent Comments:
Mosler turns 20, celebrates with MT900 GTR XX for Europe {Autoblog}
Jun 12th 2008 2:23PM I guess those of us in West Palm Beach are lucky enough to be able to drive on the same roads as MT900 GTRXX. That is clearly the Flagler Bridge from Palm Beach into West Palm.
No Bob Marley for Marty Scorsese {Cinematical}
May 21st 2008 10:55PM Theodore Roosevelt. The most historically significant of the three. But of course, I am a history teacher so my opinion may be a little biased.
Redesign giveaway: HTC's new Shift UMPC {Engadget}
Apr 10th 2008 9:42PM I would use it for class and teaching. It would be nice and light in my bag.
Discuss: Iraq War Movies and Their Box-Office Deaths {Cinematical}
Mar 26th 2008 12:53PM I enjoy war fims of all genres. However, the good ones are made after the fact, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, We Are Soldiers, Platoon; Full Metal Jacket, the Longest Day, Patton, even Battle at Midway(made just a few years after WWII). Society, particularly Historians, have had an opportunity to digest the events and influences of the war and can make meaningful conclusions about it. Making a movie about the war while it is still going on is different. The long-term perspective is non-existent or purely speculative. It's hard to make a point about an event while it is still going on. The final outsome is not written yet. Who knows if the men and women lost died in vain or not. Therefore these films are usually propaganda, either for or against the war. The films mentioned in the post are mostly dramatic recreations or pure fiction. Documentaries, such as HBO's Baghdad Hospital, provide a real look at what is going, not someone's idea of what is going on. It is the editoralizing of the events that is, at least for me, a turn off (even in documentaries). Some parts of society don't necessarily want to deal with what is happening. Therefore, none of these are the veritable cash cows that post war movies are, such as Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor. The few that are making money, such as the Kingdom, are great stories not about the war specifically but, great human stories. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I avoid these Iraq War movies like the plague but, I'd rather make up my own mind. I would rather talk to the men and women on the ground in Iraq about the war and let them influence me, not some millionaire dreamer in Hollywood.
Oscar Predictions: Filipino Cruise Ship Bartenders {Cinematical}
Feb 20th 2008 10:48AM I was on a cruise over the summer (looks like the same ship) and I was amazed at how hard the Fillipino staff worked, and all the crew for that matter. Each person I met was an incredibly bright and reasonably informed individual. The perspective they offered me as History Professor was priceless. The point made about being a "colonist" is something I easily identify with after having many late night discussions with the bartenders (slightly inebraited). Natural born US citizens often take for granted just how much we we have and these discussions really help put that in perspective for me. Here I am with my wife eating and drinking like pigs and these men and women work their a$$es off for 10-16 months for next to know pay with maybe one day off every 7-10 days. This is a great article and I am glad to know that there are others who took to heart what this group of people had to say.
Discuss: Movies that Make Guys Cry {Cinematical}
Feb 19th 2008 12:33PM Reign Over Me
Performances by Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler are incredible. The whole movie is illustrative of the way men deal with loss and depression. Sandler's character absorbed in music and videogames; Cheadle's attempts to find his own life outside of his home, these are all pretty universal elements that pulls at every guys heart strings. Of special note has to be the sequence where Sandler can't discuss what happened with his female therapist but immediately opens up to Cheadle in the waiting room.
An excellent movie for any guy to watch (assuming your alone or don't mind crying in front of others).
Self-reconfigurable Matrix-style camera array soon to be self-aware {Engadget}
Feb 14th 2008 11:19AM The point to this is the multiple cameras can accuartely map in 3-D due to the number of cameras. It sounds like there is some advanced software here that can use the minute differences in camera angles to render 3-D.
Review: Blade Runner: The Final Cut {Cinematical}
Oct 26th 2007 10:02PM "This final cut isn't just a restoration of the visuals, though -- it's a plot restoration as well, and one that I find completely stupid and unnecessary."
"Do Androids Dream Of Electic Sheep"
I think anyone really calling themselves a fan of this movie should first and foremost read this book. Deckard is supposed to question his own humanity, is he a replicant or not. Philip K. Dick's original work was so distorted that the original intention of the author is completely lost. Ridley Scott just fixed the inaccuracy of the original cut. The book provides more clues to Deckard's true identity and the conclusion that he is a replicant is almost drwan for you. Scott just actually made the story end the way Dick intended for it. And I would agree that is essentially what he did in the 10th anniversary edition.
HD DVD peripheral outselling standalone boxes {Xbox 360 Fanboy}
Jun 27th 2007 2:55PM I have the add on drive. Love it.
Toshiba officially partners with Vongo, launches Gigabeat S {Engadget}
Jun 20th 2006 5:24PM This a great device. I like the Vongo service but, as some pointed out it's selection is kind of limited and features alot of older movies. I am a movie buff so this is great for me lots and lots of movies all for only ten bucks.
Currently I am trying to fill up the Gigabeat S with video and it is unbelievably easy. My only complaint is that as of right now you can not run WMP11 and Vongo at the same time and transfer files from both programs. Presently only one program can access the Gigabeat while both pieces of software are running. You must disconnect the device, close the software, reconnect the deivce and reopen the software before transfering files from the other. This is the only major flaw I have found with the combination of Gigabeat S and Vongo. I am sure this will be fixed in an upcoming update.
My only other compliant is that you can not transfer all of the Vongo movies to a portable device. Only movies that are downloadable as portable. There is also currently no way to search Vongo only for portable movies.
Despite these flaws I love this device and plan to buy another for my girlfriend.
