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Friday, August 29, 2003
Placeme(a)nt Want to see where I live? Here's an aerial photo. And here's a topographic map. Thanks to Metafilter. Technofetishism XLIV File under: Tech demos can be dangerous. Davo, a co-worker, just brought over an iSight camera for me to test drive with him. I downloaded a new version of OSX and the iChat AV beta, and we just played around with the video and audio chat functions. Brilliant. Absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, Davo wasn't giving me the camera, so I had to order my own. Which I just did. Wow. I can't wait. The iSight is extremely cool. Thursday, August 28, 2003
Comics and Commerce IV According to Briefing.com this morning: 07:55 ET Marvel Enterprises Vice Chairman sells 5.13 mln shares (MVL) 21.07: In an SEC filing, Vice Chairman Isaac Perlmutter reports the sale of 5.13 mln shares on Aug 26. Who's the largest shareholder now? Does this mean Toybiz chief Isaac Perlmutter is on the outs? Is this good or bad for the company? Event-O-Dex LXXIV Friday, Aug. 29: Emetrex, Verona Downs, Francine, and Dear Leader get down at TT the Bear's in Cambridge. Sunday, Aug. 31: The Great Clearing Off, Combat, Disaster Strikes, and Fruit Salad get tossed at the All Asia Cafe in Cambridge. The all-ages show starts at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2: Norwegian comic artist Jason does a signing at the Million Year Picnic in Cambridge. The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXVI Taxi Driver This 1976 film directed by Martin Scorsese ends with a mixed message. While Robert De Niro's character Travis Bickle's first instinct is to lash out in a destructively antisocial manner because he was jilted by a woman (Cybill Shepherd's character Betsy), the way he finally lashes out in a destructively antisocial manner -- to free Jodie Foster's street-walking Iris Steensma -- secures him as hero. While his motivations in the latter violent outburst are understandably more laudable, Bickle's more antihero than hero as his post-Vietnam war trauma and trials add up to a distaste for most New Yorkers, if not the city itself. The movie's cast is awesome, including an early role by Harvey Keitel and a political campaign nebbish played by Albert Brooks, and the cinematography is solid. Even though I don't think the "You talkin' to me" line is the most memorable (I much prefer the following exchange: "I think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," "But how do you feel about the candidate, Palatine?"), it's clear why this movie has found such a priveleged place in late-'70s filmmaking. And finally, Bernard Hermann's score, his last, adds a layer of jazzy atmosphere to a film that becomes increasingly dark and desperate. Tunnel Love Building the Washington Metro outlines the organization and construction of the 103-mile rapid transit system in the Washington, DC, area. The Architecture and Construction sections are particularly interesting, as are the reader-contributed history and memories. Thanks to Metafilter. Wednesday, August 27, 2003
Comics and Media Coverage The New York Times is all over comic books today. One Vision from 1940's Still Rocks by Elvis Mitchell, New York Times, Aug. 27, 2003 Jack Kirby Heroes Thrive in Comic Books and Film The Magic of Comics! While Batman Turns 64, a Fan Goes Back to 9 by Dana Jennings, New York Times, Aug. 27, 2003 Library Gets a Trove a Cartoonist Collected by Elizabeth Olson, New York Times, Aug. 27, 2003 The Movie I Watched Last Night LXXV Tomb Raider Honestly, this was hella better than I expected the video game-inspired movie to be. Not overly linear -- and with a richer back story than I could have imagined -- this is a straight-up adventure movie in a fine Indiana Jones-inspired style. The mystery surrounding the key Croft finds -- and the role it might play in the once-every-5,000-years planetary alignment -- adds a degree of desperation and necessity to the plot's development, and the screenplay writers rolled in several other popcult aspects that work quite well. While I don't agree that the Illumimati made the best evil foils for Croft, the mythical undercurrents pulled me in. Jon Voight shines as Croft's father, but Croft -- as played by Angelina Jolie -- showed no chemistry with the Alex West character, although it seemed some romantic connection was implied. It is the end that impressed me the most, with its Contact-meets-From Hell singularity in time and space. For what it is, a fine movie. Not great, but not awful. Requiem for a Dream This, however, is a great film. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the man who brought us Pi, Requiem for a Dream is a frantic expansion on exploration of the American dream. To paraphrase Jared Leto's lead character, "I really only want her to be happy, I guess." The pursuit of happiness looms large throughout, with Leto's Harry Goldfarb seeking ecstasy --- and escape -- with his friends and the drugs that they take together. His addiction -- to drugs, to Marion -- is picked up by his mother, portrayed by the frenetic Ellen Burstyn, who obtains an uppers habit in order to lose weight for a TV appearance that never solidifies. The cinematography is amazing, trading surreal TV sequences featuring Christopher McDonald's infomercial king Tappy Tibbons ("No red meat! No refined sugar! Juiced by you!") for quick-cut, multilayered sequence that aptly capture the rush of drugs. The movie itself is a rush as it accelerates to its demeaning end, in which happiness eludes all of the main characters and the shared dreams that connected them dissipate like so much sand. The Kronos Quartet-provided soundtrack portions add a nice touch, as does the DVD's interface. When I first popped it in, I thought something was wrong with the DVD or my TV. But the DVD designers incorporated infomercial elements from the Tappy Tibbons sections to create one of the best DVD UI's I've ever seen. Play around with it for awhile. It's an impressive part of the movie experience. North End Moment XL Some random snaps taken in the alley behind the Scotch & Sirloin building:    These were taken moments ago in response to Warren Ellis' "It's Wednesday. I want to see the world, please," plea in Die Puny Humans. Tuesday, August 26, 2003
Music to My Ears XLVI I had no idea how important it was for presidential and other political candidates to have a theme song. Months before the Boston Globe picked up the story, Martha Brant gave Rev. Al Sharpton extra credit for the appropriateness of his choice: Bob Marley's "Stand up for Your Rights." Magazine Me XLIV Advertising Age features a solid article about the forthcoming magazine Tracks, which just secured $5 million in startup funding. Previously titled Good Music, the magazine will target music listeners over the age of 30. The ideal reader? Pushing 40, kids, a commuter, shops at malls. Huh. Planning to publish two issues before the end of the year, the magazine aims for 10 issues a year by 2006. Thanks to I Want Media. Among the Literati XLIX While David Eggers continues to play soft shoe when interacting with reporters and interviewers interested in writing about him, his erstwhile partner in crime Neal Pollack has no such qualms about letting it all hang out with fellow mediavolk. MediaBistro catches up with my favorite Pollack, pushing his buttons on book tours, the importance of being informed, and his writing habits. It's interesting. While Eggers will most likely be remembered for his editing, publishing, and other endeavors, Pollack will most certainly be remembered for his writing. Thanks to Jim Romenesko's Media News. Monday, August 25, 2003
Sites for Sore Eyes III SillyGlobe is a snarky, external ombudsman of sorts for the Boston Globe. Every day, Terry Catchpole tracks the "editorial whimsies" of the Globe, deconstructing headlines, comparing Globe content with other newspapers of record, and attacking specific writers' foibles and failings. It's a lively, invested read of the Globe -- and a site I'll return to daily from now on. Thanks to Boston Common. Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians XVIII Blogger launched Aug. 23, 1999. A belated happy birthday to Evan and the Blogger gang! Magazine Me XLIII As part of the Medill School of Journalism's Magazine Publishing Project, graduate students at Northwestern University collaborate to create a prototype of a new magazine title. I recently read the two most recent prototypes: Fall 2002's Bite and Spring 2003's Invite. Bite establishes its purpose and attitude on the front cover. With an edgy name and a solid cover image, Bite opens with energetic cover language. The table of contents continues the enthusiasm, sharing the insides of this effervescent magazine for foodies. The prototype features shorts on vegetables (the humble radish), soda pop (with a lefty leaning), and basics (rice and beans), along with recipes, drink recommendations, and regional hit picks. But it's the deeper features -- dinner party reports, profiles of catalytic cooks, pieces on important ingredients (goat cheese), retrospective trend reports (the raw food movement) -- that really please the palate. Add to that a tippler's timeline, a compilation of comfort food, and international immersion, as well as a kitchen gadget guide, interior design developments, cookbook looks, and hoi polloi how to's, and you end up with an engaging and encouraging read. Given ReadyMade and extreme golf magazines, it's high time we get an everyman's guide to eating. If Martha Stewart's Everyday Food isn't it, maybe this is. Invite is another shelter and nesting read. Less radical in its approach than Bite, it still focuses on food and drink -- and establishing one's image through entertaining. Despite its subtler tone, Invite's table of contents is decidedly less staid, and the magazine motivates with a much more fun approach to layout. The mag leads with products, entertainment elements, fete faux pas (a key item), ingredient introductions (watermelon), an entertaining calendar of recommended events and holidays, a social grace Q&A, and recipes. The feature well comprises decorating decisions, first-person narratives, holiday-oriented how to's, social strategies (the ever-beguiling guest list), party promotion profiles, and other offerings. Invite emphasizes the how as well as the to (in terms of purpose). But all in all, this prototype issue falls far from Bite's belligerence and -- while timely in terms of 911, the downturn, and all -- doesn't quite connect with my nesting instincts. We need an edgy foodie magazine to accompany such lifestyle lit as Bark and ReadyMade. I think Bite's got potential. Big Brother Is Watching XV The Carnegie Mellon Data Privacy Lab's new SOS Camera Watch project aims to catalog the estimated 10,000 publicly available Webcams trained on public spaces. Currently featuring about 600 cameras in New York, Pittsburgh, and Washington, DC -- as well as ocean, prison, and school views -- the project is growing slowly but surely. Some cameras you can even control online, taking control of the surveillance yourself. Wonder how soon they'll get to the Webcam aimed at the Rock at Northwestern University! Thanks to Interesting People. |
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