Last night anne marie and I went to ‘Brainwash’, a local cafe / laundromat… yes, laundromat. It’s kind of cool little place just down the street. We went to see our friend Matt (no pun intended) play. He does an acoustic (guitar / bango) show. He’s really good, we like going to see him play. His debut CD should be coming out this month. Visit his web site for more info, and free songs to download.
Month: June 2004
Apple WWDC Keynote
So I only live about a block from the Moscone Center, the home of this years Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). Unfortunately I didn’t have the $1,600 it takes to get in. It sucks to be so close… yet so far. I actually though about trying to forge a badge and sneak in (geek).
Apple has really done up the Moscone Center nicely, cool banners and such. I’ll probably walk down there later today and take a few pics.
Anyway, if you’re like me (an Apple freak) and couldn’t go either, Apple has made this years keynote, by Steve Jobs, available online.
[ watch keynote ]
Liquid cooled Macs
A Boston Globe article looks at the current state of liquid cooling options for personal computers, including some notes about Apple’s new liquid-cooled PowerMac G5. “Liquid cooling isn’t a feature you’ll find on many computers, but Apple likes to stay out in front. Indeed, the company is touting its new liquid-cooled machine as an engineering triumph. Perhaps it is, but it is one born of necessity. The dual microprocessors that drive the new G5 run hot — so hot that the old cooling system was no longer adequate.”
[ more ]
Mac OS X ‘Tiger’
Tiger keeps up Apple’s blazing pace of innovation with more than 150 breakthrough new features, including Spotlight, a revolutionary new way to find files and information on your personal computer; Safari RSS, a new version of Apple’s innovative web browser that provides instant access to the most current RSS information on the web; Dashboard, a dazzling new way to get in and out of a collection of new all-purpose “widgets” quickly; and iChat AV multi-way video and audio conferencing, the industry’s first consumer solution with a stunning 3D interface.
[ Apple.com ]
New Apple Displays
Announced today (and I want one!):
Feast your eyes on more than four million pixels in the first high-resolution 30-inch flat panel display designed for the personal computer. The Apple Cinema Display line features a gorgeous new anodized aluminum enclosure to complement the Power Mac G5 or PowerBook G4 and includes PC-compatible 20-inch and 23-inch models. The state of the art starts at $1299.
[ Apple.com ]
FireFly on DVD
Some friends recently let us borrow the ‘FireFly’ TV series, on DVD. We have only watched four episodes so far, but it is great. I highly recommend it.
… from ‘The Hollywood Reporter.com‘
“The short-lived TV series “Firefly” is moving to the big screen. After taking his “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” feature film and turning it into a successful TV series, Joss Whedon is about to do the reverse with another one of his creations. Whedon has teamed with Universal Pictures to turn “Firefly,” a TV cult favorite, into a feature film.
In addition to having adapted it for the big screen, Whedon will also make his feature directorial debut with the project. Plans are to see “Firefly” go into production in first-quarter 2004.
Universal recently acquired the rights to “Firefly” from 20th Century Fox Television, where Whedon’s Mutant Enemy Inc. production company has a television deal.”
The Stepford Wives
anne marie and I went to see ‘The Stepford Wives’ last night. In a word… Stink-o-rama! It was uninteresting, unfunny, predictable, and not even worth the cost of a rental. It only had two redeeming qualities… It’s relatively short (93min.), and it did have a nice opening-credit sequence (design geek). Strong thumbs down for this one. If you have an urge to see a Nichole Kidman movie, see Dogville, now that was a good movie.
The Hunger Site
So, some of you may have heard of The Hunger Site before. If not, I encourage you to follow the link below to learn more about it. Once you’re at the site, click the ‘Give Free Food’ button. I don’t think you can click more than once a day (it won’t count the extra clicks). It doesn’t cost you a thing.
While you are at the site, you have access to four other tabs (across the top) that do the same thing for other causes… Breast Cancer Site, Child Health Site, Rainforest Site, and Animal Rescue Site.
… from The Hunger Site’s ‘Common Questions’
How does the site work? Who pays for the food?
The site’s sponsors pay for your daily click. The sponsors purchase tiles on the Thank You page for a certain amount of time. The Hunger Site then tabulates the number of people who click during that time frame and bill the sponsor for the appropriate amount. The Hunger Site divides the monies between two leading hunger relief organizations: America’s Second Harvest and Mercy Corps.
Donnie Darko Returns
… from iWalt.com
“Fans of Richard Kelly’s great sci-somethingorother film Donnie Darko may be pleased to learn (as I was) that it’s being re-released with more music, extended scenes, and new visual effects.
That’s right, it’s Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut . The trailer is really excellent. Now if I could only find out where it’s playing.
MovieTickets.com seems to think it’s coming out on July 23rd but doesn’t have any theater information yet. Yahoo! Movies has a page for it but it doesn’t come up in their search results.
This interview with the director has the usual lines about why the film is back in theaters.”
The Chronicles of Riddick-ulous
Last night anne marie and I went to see ‘The Chronicles of Riddick‘. If you are looking for a movie with a story, or good dialogue… keep looking, this isn’t the movie for you. The ‘story’ is all over the place, never giving enough information about any given scenario, and the dialogue is comprised of a series of one-liners. I didn’t realize until the other day that this is actually a sequal to ‘Pitch Black‘ , the 2000 movie that introduced the character Riddick. I thought Pitch Black stunk, so I should have known that this one would be no great prize.
However, I will give The Chronicles of Riddick extremely high marks for its visuals. The computer animation, set & costume design, and attention to detail were all excellent. I especially like the look of the ‘Necromongers’. Everything about them was very ornate, and dark. When talking strictly about design, and attention to detail, I would compare this movie to ‘Dune’, and ‘The Matrix’. In all other aspects, The Chronicles of Riddick falls way short. I give this one a thumbs down, unless you’re a sci-fi design geek (like me).
I do quite like the web site though. They had nice attention to detail there too