Wild Tangents
Marc talks about life in Nashville, life as a Catholic and life as a geek.

Suzette and I just went to see Ocean’s 13. I have to say it was a joy to watch. I can’ find any fault with it. Acting, story and filming were all excellent. It was just so entertaining. Like the two previous movies in the franchise, it really doesn’t take itself seriously at all and you shouldn’t take it seriously either. I wouldn’t really call it a comedy, but it was full of humor. With Al Pacino joining the cast, there were plenty of inside “Godfather” joke as well. I highly recommend this movie. Go see it it…..today!

Technorati Tags: movies

Well, what an anti-climax today was. The only real big announcements made were complete duds.

First we have Safari browser for Windows. This has got to be the biggest “what were they thinking?” moment for me since Palm announced the Foleo. I mean really. I’m a die hard Mac user and I don’t use Safari. What makes anyone at Apple think that Windows users will convert in droves to Safari? Most of the people who would even have a clue what they doing by installing Safari on their PC would probably already be hooked on Firefox, or maybe Opera.

The other biggie was that there would be a way for third party developers to develop apps for the iPhone. They would have hooks that would allow access to functions on the phone. So basically the answer is that you can develop apps for that sub-par browser I just mentioned and that’s your way to put your own apps on the iPhone. My first thought was that it was a real cop out. My second thought was that anyone who develops…..at all…..would realize this already. I’m not sure why it was even a topic for discussion at this. It was jsut very disappointing.

A few other things of note were of course the previews for Leopard and some gaming news. The Leopard previews were really cool. I’m really looking forward to it. It doesn’t come out until October though. Apple recently announced that it was delayed due to having to shift some resources from Mac OS development to iPhone development. It makes me wonder where the resources to port Safari to Windows came from. The gaming news was that two major gaming players (sorry, couldn’t resist), EA and ID would start producing Mac versions of their games. This is a good thing. Even with the new version of Parallels that allows for 3DFX support for Windows VMs, I would still much rather play games in the native OS.

Overall though, I considered this Stevenote to be rather lame. To think, I could have spent that time getting a cavity drilled or something along those lines instead of sitting at my desk waiting for MacRumorsLive to refresh. All the Twitter conversation was fun though.

Technorati Tags: Apple, computers, development, macintosh, macosx, software, web

I posted something last week about Niki from Heroes. It was really meant to be a joke, but my buddy Mark made a comment that got me to thinking.

The producers have said that each powered individual on the show only has one inherent power. That is to say for instance Sylar has the ability to graft on to his brain the powers of others. Those powers he steals are not inherent to him though. At the same time, Peter’s empathic powers allow him to take on other’s abilities when he comes into contact with them. The point is though that both of them only have one inherent power. It also seem obvious that the specific powers everyone take on are influenced by who they are. For instance Peter’s empathy is something that is a part of his personality and the way he leads his life. Sylar’s ability to figure out how things work in another powered person’s brain seems to be influenced by his chosen profession as a watchmaker. Hiro’s power could well be influenced by his love for SciFi and comic books.

Now here’s the thing, Jessica and Niki are two individuals. They were twin sisters and since the powers on the show are genetic, isn’t not only possible but probable that they both had (have) powers? Hear me out… It seems that Niki’s power is some sort of super strength/endurance. I say it’s Niki’s because we know the powers are “in the brain” since Sylar “looks” at the brain to “figure out how it works”. We also know that Jessica’s body is buried, along with her brain. Niki’s power could’ve developed as a defense mechanism to her father’s abuse. I can see that. But what if Jessica also developed a power in response to her father’s abuse? What if her power was some sort of projection, something that would allow her to leave her body when she was being abused? Eventually she might have been able to enter someone else’s body. The first time she entered her sister’s body to protet her while their father was abusing Niki, she was probably surprised at how strong she was. She could have used that strength to fight off their father to protect Niki. The problem is that this made their father focus his abuse on Jessica, since he was probably now afraid of Niki and what he knew she could do to him. So what do you think would happen if Jessica was “projected” into Niki on that day she died? It’s something to think about.

Technorati Tags: geek, heroes, tv

In the long run, I shouldn’t really care. But in the long run when a celebrity does something so stupid that it endangers other people around them (yes even innocent people), I should care. We all should right? So I think she should go to jail. I do have to complain about them making an example of her though. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not like the whiners out there say, “They shouldn’t use her as a celebrity to make an example”. I think they should make an example out of her. These people that so many folks look up to as heroes exist on their celebrity status. Since they are role models, they should be held to higher standard. Paris got 45 days for doing something she have been given a sentence measured in months.

Technorati Tags: news, celebrity

USAToday has the story of how ABC and the producers of Lost have announced the last episode, which will air in 2010.

The end is in sight for ABC’s acclaimed island mystery Lost, but fans will have to wait until 2010 for all the answers.

I actually kind of like this idea. I think it works for a show like Lost because it will give the producers a solid timeframe for building out the rest of and finishing the story. They have said from the beginning that Lost is not like shows like Desperate Housewives or ER in that they are here to tell a story. From the beginning, they knew this story had a start and finish. Once you reach that finish line, you are truly at the end.

It reminds me somewhat of Babylon 5. When JMS started Babylon 5, he had 5 seasons worth of story to tell. Keep in mind what I just said, I said “story”, not “stories”. He knew the basics of the story, including the end when he started. It had to develop overtime, but it still followed the same outline. The same seems to be true with Lost. I think setting a target end date give the writers and the producers the opportunity to the story on their own terms. It allows them to create their peaks and valleys in the plot as needed to tell the story right.

To be honest, I’m even more excited now than I was before hearing this.

Technorati Tags: lost, news, scifi, tv

This movie is easy as far as the recommendation. If you get a chance to go see it, don’t. The reasons for this negativity are not so easy to say. They’re easy to see, it’s just hard to say it. As someone who loves film, it’s just hard to say when a movie is so bad. But sometimes it must be said. This movie suffered for a horrible script, both dialogue and plot. It seems these days that a script full of expletives is always a good substitute for a good story. This movie takes that theory to extremes. Halle Barry’s character dropped enough “f bombs” to make Tony Montanta blush. Once the movie got started, well…..it never got started. It just ran slow as those annoying turtles on the Comcast commercials. I kept waiting for it to pick the pace and become exciting. I’m glad I didn’t hold my breath. It actually got slower at the end, which is fortunate since navigating the plot twists and turns gave me a bad case of whiplash. The only redeeming quality with this was of course the acting. Even with the horrid script, Bruce Willis and Halle Berry still gave outstanding performances. I just wish they had better material to work with.

Technorati Tags: movies, rant, reviews

I recently whined and moaned about the ongoing trend in Hollywood to remake everything thing that comes to mind while complaining about the proposed remake of “The Day The Earth Stood Still”.

Well, I am saddened that three (almost in a row) stories from SciFi Wire are about new plans for remakes. I hate this….

• Goyer Updating Scanners

  Yes, the David Cronenberg classic with exploding heads and Michael Ironside method acting is about to be ruined.

• Get Smart’s First Look

  Yes, the beloved 60’s cult TV show is about to be ruined.

• Barbarella To Be Revived

  As much as I like the band Duran Duran, I never really liked this one. But many folks did. It was a cult classic just like the other two one this list. For all those people that liked it, it’s about to be ruined.

Please Hollywood! Get a new sense of creativity!

Bonus cool points go to anyone who can cite the reference I made in the post title. It’s one of the few good remakes out there.

Technorati Tags: 60’s, 80’s, movies, scifi, tv

I’m bored…..But I haven’t been bored while in the shower the past few days. The way I overload myself with podcasts, I don’t get much time for music. Only the rare occasion that I am just driving down the street (too short a drive to get started good on a cast) or taking a shower (no, that’s not a rare occasion - the driving thing is the rare occasion) is when I usually use those files on the iPod that are considered “MUSIC”. Here’s a list of the last ten songs played. I’ve included ITMS links when the song is available. iTunes software is required for the links to work.

1. Getting Away With It - Electronic

   
   
   

   The simple “electronic” melody and catchy lyrics of this one have always lifted my spirits and put a spring in my step. I don’t care what anyone else says about it!

2. I Won’t Be Home No More - Hank Williams

   
   
   

   I love Hank. I wish he was still around.

3. I Have A Dream - 7 Seconds

   
   
   

   Nothing beats an anti-racism punk rock ballad.

4. Games Without Frontiers - Peter Gabriel

   
   
   

   Peter Gabriel is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. This is one of his greatest songs.

5. Depression - Black Flag

   
   
   

   Another punk classic, this one a little less upbeat.

6. Close to Me - The Cure

   
   
   

   Have you ever felt boxed in, like there’s no way to get out?

7. In The Ghetto - Elvis

   
   
   

   One of the most touching songs ever recorded. You really feel for the mother.

8. What am I Doing Hangin’ Round? - The Monkees

   
   
   

   Yes, it’s a Monkees song. But give me a little credit. It’s one written and sung my Michael Nesmith. i am not afraid to admit that I love to sing along to this one either!

9. Mexican Radio - Wall Of Voodoo

   Unfortunately iTunes doesn’t have anything from Wall of Voodoo except the album “Index Masters”. This means they don’t have “Call of the West”, which is the album this song was on. Bad iTunes! You are missing one great album.

10. Ich Bin Ein Auslander - Pop Will Eat Itself

    
    
    

    Near the top of my favorite bands list is PWEI. This is a great song by them.

So there you have it. Feel free to make fun of my eclectic taste in music all you want. I’ve had this problem all my life, so I m used to it.


Technorati Tags: itunes, music

There’s been a lot of talk about the new announcement Steve Jobs is flying into London for today. Some have said it’s that The Beatles (among others) will be added to the iTunes library. Others are now saying it’s that the entire EMI catalogue will be added to iTunes “DRM free”. Both of these are significant. First there has been a long standing dispute between the record label founded by the Beatles called “Apple” and what was formerly known as “Apple Computer” that now calls itself “Apple Inc.”. The reasons for this dispute, while petty should be obvious, especially when you consider how Apple has become such a music powerhouse with the advent of the iPod and the iTunes music store.

So what’s it going to be? Will Jobs and EMI both put their money where their mouths are and go DRM free? Or it is the long awaited addition of the Beatles to the iTunes collection? Only time will tell and unfortunately I’ll be on a plane when it happens, if it happens. Let’s not forget that yesterday was April Fools Day.

UPDATE: DRM free music from EMI. get the scoop here.

Technorati Tags: Apple, geek, iPod, itunes, music, pop, tech

So…UM…WOW!

That was one of the most awesome “filler” episodes of any series I’ve ever seen. Just….WOW!

Did anyone else hear in the airport when they paged “Patrick Stewart” overhead?

Comment please! I want to hear what other folks think….

Technorati Tags: lost, tv