Posted in Culture, Movies, Television, tagged apocalypse, games, Movies, pop culture, television, zombies on 14 Aug 2012| 2 Comments »
And speaking of the Apocalypse, what is it with zombies, anyway?
We all know that the Apocalypse begins with zombies, (You all did know that, didn’t you? I mean, Rev. 11:11 is pretty clear on the subject; if Revelation can be clear on anything, that is) so I understand why the faithful are always alert to the sudden appearance of the shambling undead. I mean, they’re sort of an End of Days Early Warning System (EDAWS). See a zombie? Better pack your spiritual bags. (more…)
Posted in Movies, tagged deja vu, French cinema, Movies, Sophie Marceau on 07 Aug 2012| 2 Comments »
I got a severe case of déjà vu today. It lasted 89 minutes.
I was getting ready for my workout. I pulled up a “Anthony Zimmer” from my Instant Queue and got going.
A woman goes into a restaurant. She waits. She’s being stood up. A messenger enters, sees her, and gives her an envelope. She reads it, crumples it, burns it, and leaves.
I knew I’d seen this movie before. I knew what she was going to do next, I knew where it was going, but I also knew that I’d never seen this movie before. And it wasn’t just the Bernard Hermann inspired score (equal parts “North By Northwest” and “Vertigo”) or the scenes of Paris and the Riviera that I’d seen in a dozen movies from “To Catch a Thief” to “Ronin”. No, I’d have remembered Sophie Marceau in this movie. I remember Sophie Marceau in every movie I’ve seen her in (call me crazy). The damned thing was…I couldn’t remember how it ended. (more…)
Posted in Culture, Writing, tagged quiet living, simplification, Writing, writing techniques, writing tips on 06 Aug 2012| Leave a Comment »
Frederick the Great is reputed to have said, “If you try to hold everything, you hold nothing.”
He was talking about focus, and applying your effort where it can do the best good, even if that meant you took a hit. This advice, though 200 years old and military in origin, can be applied directly to our lives today.
Yes, I’m talking about multitasking.
Posted in Culture, tagged Curiosity, Mars, NASA, rover, science, space exploration on 06 Aug 2012| Leave a Comment »
I’m usually quite on top of events in space exploration; I followed the Spirit and Opportunity landings with verve, and was obsessed with the daily feeds that came back from Cassini. Somehow, this one just slipped under my radar, but thankfully, someone over at Xbox decided it would be cool to make a big deal out of it, and Friday, two days before the landing of the new Curiosity rover, I got wind of the whole thing.
Then I saw the video (below) that described the “7 minutes of terror” of landing, and saw the Rube Goldberg style method of getting this rover from orbit to the surface. My first reaction—the reaction of many and, reportedly, the reaction of some of the scientists on the team—was “That’s crazy!” Orbit, entry, heat shield, parachute, pop the shield, dump the contents, balance on rockets, and then a skycrane to lower the rover to the surface? Could the possibly have put in more moving parts? Why didn’t they just pack it in balloon-wrap and drop it like they did before? Why was this devilishly hard collection of contraptions necessary?
Posted in Culture, Television, tagged fencing, NBC, Olympics, perfect vs good, saddest story on 04 Aug 2012| Leave a Comment »
It’s making the rounds. You’ve seen it. The blogs are afire with rants about how American TV sat on “the saddest story” of this Olympiad, wherein due to a timekeeping error a South Korean athlete lost to a German competitor in the Epee medal round.
First, “The Saddest Story”? Seriously. You mean that, only two days into competition, we already have the story of greatest heartbreak? Or was it plus triste because the South Korean competitor remained on the piste, weeping, in protest of the decision? Hyperbole aside, while worthy of all the protests filed by the South Korean team, I don’t know that this is what I’d even call “sad.” It’s unfortunate, but it’s hardly the first time such an error has been made.
Posted in Culture, Seattle, tagged Agile, Corporate America, IT, modern culture, Seattle, software development on 04 Aug 2012| 8 Comments »
I’m going to say it. Kids today…
When I began working in IT, men wore ties to work. This wasn’t back in the Don Draper Days…this was only a couple of decades ago. The corporate culture was professional, dignified, and respectful. Not that I’m a fan of neckties—far from it—but they were an indicator of how we treated one another, and how we thought about ourselves. We were professionals, and we were adults.
Posted in Television, tagged First World Problem, NBC, Olympics, sports, streaming media, television, White Whine on 03 Aug 2012| Leave a Comment »
Once again, it’s time for one of America’s favorite biennial sports: Dog-pile on NBC for their coverage/lack of coverage of the Olympiad.
This year, I’m not participating.
Usually—and especially since our cable provider dumped the CBC/CBUT feed from Canada and we became even more dependent on NBC’s coverage—I’m a big participant in this sport. What would you expect from someone who’s favorite sports are fencing, curling, and equestrian? These sports never get full coverage on American TV; often an entire fencing tournament will be reduced to a one-minute recap during primetime—I mean, fencing fast but it’s not that fast. Curling has been getting a better shake in recent Olympiads, but only if the Americans have a fighting chance.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 