pres.umptuo.us

• How to write a novel in 100 days or less. I’ll try this…mmmmm…later.

  Wednesday August 10, 2005

• Everything is Illuminated Trailer

  Tuesday August 9, 2005

• $68 million stolen in Brazil’s biggest bank heist. My plans for early retirement have been sparked once again.

  Tuesday August 9, 2005

• Nine Drawings with LSD. I like #7.

  Monday August 8, 2005

I’m backlogged on the movie reviews, so I’m just going to condense three of them.

The Shape of Things

I wasn’t aware that this was adapted from a play, so the first couple of scenes felt long and bland and too focused on dialogue. I’m a big fan of Rachel Weisz and Paul Rudd but even with that I was ready to stop watching after the first half hour. I kept going though, and the ending and pay off made it worth it, but still not a movie I could recommend.

Cinema Paradiso

Cinema Paradiso was the winner of Best Foreign Film in 1990. There isn’t anything special about the film that I’d want to point out, just very well told and enjoyable with a lot of subplots (although some aren’t resolved). It’s one of those movies that follows a main character from childhood to old age that aren’t really done any more these days. Watch it.

Primer

I saw this yesterday and I’m still trying to figure out just what I thought of it. Jason Kottke totally loved it and gave it his highest recommendation, comparing it even to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I got none of that when I watched it. Maybe cause I was too busy trying to grapple with the plot and timeline. I’d only recommend this if you’re into the movies that mess with your mind, like Memento.

I didn’t think I’d like this album this much, but it’s way bueno. This is like what Coldplay’s album X & Y should’ve been like.

Plans is not revolutionary in any way. It’s exactly what one would expect from Death Cab for Cutie, so if you weren’t a fan before you probably won’t be one now, and if you were a fan before then you’ll still be a fan. It’s just great to have new music from them.

Stand out tracks: Brothers on a Hotel Bed (I hit rewind three times on this track my first time through) and I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Acoustic Ben Gibbard is always good). I’m sure I’ll come to love a lot of the other tracks in time. Their first single, Soul Meets Body, is just a little on the cheesy side for me though.

Plans will be released on August 30th.

• Whose Fish? I must have spent 2 or 3 hours on this today.

  Thursday August 4, 2005

I sent Ms. Byun an e-mail. This was her reply.

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
okay.

i’ll ask her when i see her next.

thanksssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooo
much.

Then I decided to be a smartass, and thus replied without using the ‘h’, ’s’, or ‘o’ keys.

P , y u didn’t even remember. ee wh ‘ her real friend n w.

T i me age i mi ing c aracter becau e y u u ed t em up in t e la t e-mail.
(This message is missing characters because you used them up in the last e-mail.)

As one can guess, she called me shortly after to inquire as to Gmail’s newfound character limit and to ask me how Gmail calculates it. There were many long pauses in the phone conversation. I asked her to reply to my e-mail to make it formal.

really? gmail knows how many letters i use up? how do they kno that?
how many am i allowed to use???

I keep friends like these around to make me feel smart.

• Pure Luck. Breathtaking.

  Tuesday August 2, 2005

Oh Apple, why can’t you just make a regular mouse? The 360-degree scrollwheel I like (although the contact point seems a bit tiny), but what’s with all this touch sensitive stuff? People need feedback when they click. And the giant top of the mouse being one big button doesn’t and never did work.

The first thing people do when they get a Mac is throw away the mouse and buy themselves a better one. Give up on your unusable single-click mouse, Apple.

As my coworker says, next down the line is going to be an Apple keyboard missing the “P” and “R” keys, cause you just don’t need them. Want to type a “P”? Hold down option and press “L”.

• Elevator Hacking. I’m going to have to see for myself if this actually works.

  Tuesday August 2, 2005