March 2008 Archives

Miranda July Shows Us How to Make a Button

MARCH 20, 2008

Quick Post link: http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1454975012

Posted in Quick Post at 12:45 am.
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Ollicle Reflex, Another Great NetNewsWire Style

MARCH 15, 2008

It's fairly similar in style to my Simply Structured, but has some crazy awesome javascript tricks. I'll definitely learn some tricks from this one. Well done Ollie.

Quick Post link: http://www.ollicle.com/2008/mar/08/ollicle_reflex_netnewswire_style.html

Posted in Quick Post at 9:02 pm.
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Please Movie Industry, Don't Do It

MARCH 13, 2008

The studios seem to be playing the cash grab game and it's making me nervous. It wasn't pretty watching the music industry go down the tubes, but I'm not terribly concerned about it. Self-producing and releasing music is relatively cheap these days and, while this may be hard to believe, I won't shed a single tear as the major labels go down with the ship.

The movie industry is another story. No, I don't have a personal attachment to any of the studios, but making movies ain't cheap, so we kinda need them. This is why I'm disappointed to see them shift focus to 3-D films. There are a bunch of 3-D releases on the way (including Toy Story 3) and the studios just announced an offer to convert 10,000 theaters to 3-D, which the exhibitors have yet to accept. I'm definitely in favor of improving the movie-going experience, but do you really think the Hannah Montana movie was a success because of an additional dimension? (Actually, a lot of people say it was just savvy marketing.) I would think there is more money to made pumping movies directly into all those new home theaters, but I guess that's not as flashy.

Compared to IFC's recent deal with Blockbuster, 3-D seems completely innocuous. The deal gives Blockbuster 60 days of exclusive access to rentals and downloads before any retail copies can be sold and three years of rental exclusivity. So if you use Netflix or an independent store, you won't be able to rent any future IFC release until 2011 at the earliest. This has caused problems in the video game world — I wrote about Madden and EA a while ago — and will only confuse and frustrate movie fans. As the Reeler points out, this is not terribly independent of IFC.

My biggest fear is that the movie industry learns nothing from their audio-only brethren and continues to make it difficult for me to spend money. The 3-D issue seems misguided, but I may just be suffering from fuddy-duddy-ness. Signing exclusive deals seems like just another reason for consumers to find the quickest path to a movie without regard to legality.

Posted in Music\TV\Film\Media at 5:19 pm.
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Sampottsinc.com is Awesome

MARCH 12, 2008

After checking out this D&D Flowchart from NYT, I googled for the designer, Sam Potts. Maybe not the most client-friendly site, but it sure is hilarious

Quick Post link: http://www.sampottsinc.com/

Posted in Quick Post at 1:06 pm.
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Six-Word Reviews of 763 SXSW MP3s

MARCH 12, 2008

Paul Ford ranks and reviews every MP3 provided by bands performing at SXSW

Quick Post link: http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/reviews/sixword_reviews_of_763_sxsw_mp3s.php

Posted in Quick Post at 10:48 am.
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Food Court Musical by Improv Everywhere

MARCH 12, 2008

I think this is my favorite prank yet. Skip the report and just watch the video. [again, via serious eats]

Quick Post link: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/03/09/food-court-musical/

Posted in Quick Post at 12:51 am.
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Wasabi Fire Alarm for the Deaf

MARCH 12, 2008

It uses powerful odors to wake the deaf. It's interesting to think about the difference smells that signify danger and those that just stink. [via serious eats]

Quick Post link: http://inventorspot.com/articles/wasabi_silent_fire_alarm_alerts__11514

Posted in Quick Post at 12:48 am.
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Ruth Reichl Spills Some Details on Momofuku Ko

MARCH 4, 2008

"You linger, loath to leave, knowing that this is the last supper here. And then you try, because you really can’t help yourself. David Chang shakes his head: No, you can’t make another reservation before you leave. 'Only online. I mean it.'"

Quick Post link: http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2008/03/firsttaste_momofukuko

Posted in Quick Post at 1:50 pm.
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