Month: May 2009

bad book – Wonder Boys

On By Rick McIn books, movies, product complaintsLeave a comment

I read and enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. It won the the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.

So … expected to enjoy another of his books, Wonder Boys (1995).

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The writing is skillful, of course. The plot original. The characters quirky.

But ultimately I could not finish the book It had nothing to teach me. I hate books about disfunctional losers and their stupid lives.

Yeesh.

I never saw the film version (2000) starring Michael Douglas. But some say, despite being a box office dog, that it was better than the book.

The Hunt for Gollum

On By Rick McIn moviesLeave a comment

The Hunt for Gollum is a fan film based on elements of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. The film is a prequel to the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, and is based on passages in the novel’s appendices. Its visual style is inspired by Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, but the production is completely unofficial and unauthorized by the Tolkien estate or New Line Cinema, which produced Jackson’s film trilogy. …

The Hunt for Gollum debuted at the Sci-Fi-London film festival and on the internet, free to view, on 3 May 2009.

Click PLAY or watch one of the trailers on Dailymotion.

As a fan film, The Hunt for Gollum exists in a legal grey area. …

It is unclear whether the production violates the rights held by the Tolkien estate and New Line films. Fred von Lohmann, director of the Electronic Freedom Foundation, told NPR that the high quality of the film and its global reach via the internet could potentially create legal issues. However, director Chris Bouchard told BBC News:

We got in touch with Tolkien Enterprises and reached an understanding with them that as long as we are completely non-profit then we’re okay. We have to be careful not to disrespect their ownership of the intellectual property. They are supportive of the way fans wish to express their enthusiasm.

Wikipedia

Surprisingly good. I recommend it. It goes to show that amateurs can make quality cinema with only a few thousands dollars and volunteer labour.

Watch The Hunt for Gollum online. (40min)

National Bike to Work Day

On By Rick McIn cycling, health & fitness1 Comment

Thursday, MAY 14th, 2009 is National Bike to Work Day.

I normally bike about an hour to work. But Tuesday and Thursday I ride the big, public limo.

Perhaps I need move to Freiburg, Germany:

… Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.

As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. …

bikes-no-cars

read more – NY Times – In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars

Hemmingway on bicycles

On By Rick McIn cyclingLeave a comment

“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.”

— Ernest Hemingway

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By artist Wil Freeborn.

via The Piton

Google News still sucks

On By Rick McIn Google, product complaints, product endorsementsLeave a comment

Google News is one of the greatest innovations ever on the internet. There are other News aggregaters, but I never visit any of them.

But it’s hardly improved at all since being introduced.

MG Siegler on TechCrunch gives examples of the many problems.

I’m sorry, but for as good as Google is at organizing the world’s data, Google News absolutely sucks.

read more … Google News Gets An Update. Still Sucks.

google-news-sucks

He feels the service will not improve without more human editing.

Many call Google Search a parasitical business model, including Jim Spanfeller, President and CEO of Forbes.com.

There are other critics. Some publishers of the 25,000 news sources included in Google News want Google to start paying something for the content.

1000 Awesome Things

On By Rick McIn blogs, humour1 Comment

Have you heard of the amusing blog out of Toronto?

1000 Awesome Things is just a time-ticking countdown of 1000 awesome things. Launched a few months ago and updated every weekday.

1000 Awesome Things

Here’s a sample post:

#770 Grabbing the cereal bowl with both hands and slurping up all the sugary milk

He's quickly becoming a master

When the cereal’s done but that shiny, off-white milk puddle remains, it’s time to drop the spoon, grab the bowl, and tilt back like there’s no tomorrow. It’s espresso for kids, it’s breakfast dessert, and it’s completely and totally

AWESOME!

Photo from: here