Viewing Guide to the Shining

This is a viewing guide to The Shining that I started reading on a lark, then couldn't stop. Whether all of this was actually Kubrick's intent, I don't know. Something makes me dubious. Then again, if anybody was going to think it through this much, Kurbick would be my choice.

Physical Cosmologies: The Shining (excerpt)

(This is an excerpt of a large-scale guide to the inner workings of The Shining. The written probe here is evidence of a conscious attempt to create motion-glyphs out of seemingly mundane and unrelated forms, signs and symbols of two continental systems. In essence a primer for a new form of visual cognition, The Shining eschews all formal genre conditions of horror crafting a vastly unseeable new genre, one that has yet to be fully integrated into our culture as re-cognition. Your memory is consistently being tested as well as your powers of observation, not unlike a test we would administer to an ape to see relevance and awareness. Our consciousness as thinkers that utilize the visual cortex to connect motor and sense areas requires that we evolve beyond our liminal trappings. The Shining, though primitive, represents a revolution awaiting the brain, dormant in "
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Depp as Dillinger

‘Public Enemies’: "Johnny Depp as John Dillinger, directed by Michael Mann."
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(Via Daring Fireball.)

Seconded!

Lovecraftian School Board Member Wants Madness Added To Curriculum: "ARKHAM, MA—'Our facilities must be razed to the ground and rebuilt in the image of the Cyclopean dwellings of the Elder Gods,' said board member Charles West."
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(Via The Onion.)

Will the Pirates Hang?

Pirate Bay Verdict Due April 17: "The Pirate Bay trial ended in Stockholm, Sweden, on Tuesday as attorneys for the four defendants decried the case as a mockery and proclaimed their clients innocent."
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(Via Wired News.)

New Book on Kubrick Upcoming

Stanley Kubrick: The Napoleon Film: "Jeffrey Wells on the upcoming book, Stanley Kubrick: The Napoleon Film:

Written by Allison Castle and edited by Christiane Kubrick (i.e., Kubrick’s widow), it will focus entirely on the famous Napoleon biopic that Kubrick began working on in ’68 and bailed on four or five years later — i.e., ‘the greatest film that Kubrick never made.’"
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(Via Daring Fireball.)

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That ought to be an interesting read.

Amazon Releases Kindle Application for iPhone

Amazon Releases Kindle Application for iPhone: "The app is a free download, and lets you read Amazon’s proprietary Kindle e-books on your iPhone. The Kindle app doesn’t have an interface to the Kindle Store; instead, you buy books (or add free samples) to your account on Amazon’s Kindle web store, then when you next launch the Kindle iPhone app, it downloads any new content in your account. You can get free sample chapters of books, so it’s easy to try without spending a dime"
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(Via Daring Fireball.)

Stanza: Free eReader for iPhone/iPod Touch

This app alone is worth plunking down the cash to get an iPod Touch. And the best part is the freeness. There are other eReading apps in the iTunes store, but this one is the one to beat - and it's the free one. Not only is it free, but from within you can navigate to several different directories of free eBooks (mostly classics, but not all) and you can also purchase new releases from Fictionwise from right inside the app.

Below is a screenshot of the reading screen:

Cool thing about the reading screen is it is completely customizable. You can change the font, font size, font color, background color, line spacing, etc., to find the most comfortable way to read. Page turns happen with a tap and you can page forward or back, you can even designate which side of the screen, when tapped, takes you in which direction.

As an avid reader, I was an eReader skeptic. This app has changed all that. I can carry around a library of books on my iPod Touch, sure, but if I couldn't get comfortable with the read, then what good does it do? But reading from this app on the iPod is very comfortable, you forget all about the novelty of it in a few minutes. Plus you can comfortably read with one hand in a dark room, which comes in handy when my son is asleep on my lap.

So how does it compare to Amazon's Kindle? Well, I haven't used a Kindle - and won't. As I said in an earlier post. Why would I pay $359.00 for a dedicated eReader which boasts "16 shades of grey," and doesn't fit in my pants pocket, when I can buy an 8GB iPod Touch for $229 and have not just an eReader, but a music player, movie player, gaming device, etc. - it doesn't make sense. Plus there's a separate app for reading kindle formated books on the iPod as well.

If you're a reader like me, and you're on the fence about an iPod Touch, this should push you over the edge.

Here's the AppVee Reveiew:

New Mac DJ App

Djay 2.3.1 Review | Music and Audio | Mac Gems | Macworld: "When you need a quick music mix, the temptation to fire up iTunes can be tough to resist. But a dedicated DJ app will give you more advanced features that make playing music more fun—and fun is what DJing is all about, right?"
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New iMacs Out

Apple releases new iMacs - Macworld: "The 20-inch iMac features a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 memory, a 320GB Serial ATA hard drive and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics."
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(Via Google News.)

Firefox Memory-Suck Defense

Prevent Firefox from Hogging Memory When Minimized [Firefox Tip]: "In our latest browser speed tests, I half-heartedly complained that Firefox eats up memory over long periods of use. Our lovely, helpful commenters pointed out that there is, indeed, a tweak to help with that."

(Via Lifehacker.)

Unboxed: Amazon Kindle 2 gets iPod treatment. Will it sell?

Uh, not much.

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Unboxed: Amazon Kindle 2 gets iPod treatment. Will it sell?: "Amazon's second generation of its Kindle ebook reader takes cues from Apple in hopes to make the new product the 'iPod of books.' Here's a graphical tour of how close Amazon comes to replicating the iPod experience."

(Via AppleInsider.)

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Why pay $350+ for this when you can read books on your iPhone or iPod Touch ($229+) AND play music AND watch movie AND collect photos AND play great games AND AND AND...

What Competing App Stores?

Report: iPhone "miles ahead" of competing app stores: "A report on mobile applications sales ranked Apple's iPhone App Store 'miles ahead of the competition' as the leading software marketplace, based on timeliness to market, the ability to attract developers, and the 'number, variety and appeal of applications available.'"

(Via AppleInsider.)

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This is a headline?

Poor Kids

No iPods, iPhones allowed in Gates household: "The three children of Bill and Melinda Gates may not be allowed to have a product from a certain Cupertino-based rival in their home, but that doesn't mean Mrs. Gates doesn't wish for an Apple gadget every once in a while."

(Via AppleInsider.)

Yeah, So What?

Universal Phone Charger -- So What?: "In February, seventeen of the world's biggest, big-boy cell phone manufacturers got their Voltron on, banding together under the flag of the GSMA (Groupe Speciale Mobile Association) to promise universal handset jack-ability by 2012. Ever since then, I've read countless articles by tech writers praising this announcement and heralding it as the long-overdue end to that proverbial bottom drawer full of old, outdated chargers we all supposedly keep. But I'm not drinking the GSMA's Kool-Aid."

(Via *Popular* Science.)

Dirk Benedict Interview

Calling All A-Team and BSG Fans: "If you haven't read my interview on the homepage with Dirk Benedict -- a.k.a. Starbuck from the original Battlestar Galactica and Lt. Templeton 'Face' Peck  from The A-Team -- do it now. There are few figures from my pop culture childhood that could possibly live up to their onscreen characters, and Benedict doesn't dissappoint. And for you sci-fi freaks out there, Benedict also weighs in some more about what he thinks of the new BSG.  "

(Via The Corner on NRO.)

Paul Newman: Celebrity Worth Celebrating

"He was smilin'. You know, that ole Luke Smile.'

The first time I saw Paul Newman was in The Sting. My dad and I watched it together one Sunday afternoon when I was about 7 or 8 years old. A few Sundays later, we watched Cool Hand Luke. Saying these films had an impact on me is an understatement. I wanted to be Paul Newman. And if I'm honest, I still do.

I've seen all of Newman's films save a couple, (still haven't gotten around to The Silver Chalice), and I'm never checked my watch while he's on screen. I still find him electric.

Though I can't ever say who my favorite actor of all time is, I would say Newman is the closest to being just that.

Of all the actors who represented The New Men (Brando, Dean, Cliff, Newman, etc.) none of them were as consistent, revealing, charming, and beloved.

Even though many may think Newman never quite hit the notes Brando did, I think, even if I don't necessarily agree with that assertion, that Newman showed us what an exceptionally good-looking man, with exceptional acting chops could do with dedication, hard work, personal stability, and a humble approach to life with a low center of gravity. Most of our movie stars go the other way.

A contemporary of Brando, comparisons abound. But Newman was criticized as not being quite the talent Brando was, and not quite as good looking as Brando was. But, ladies and gentlemen, they are two different types of actors, and VERY different types of men. But who else can you compare Newman with other than Brando? Who else has left a mark so deep, wide, and enduring on American Film. Who else, at 83, was still a relevant force in cinema? And Newman never, ever, went anywhere. There was no flame-out, or mini-retirement, or comeback. From 1954 to 2006 he made roughly and movie a year.

And out of those movies, at least 10 are certified classics of American cinema.

1. The Hustler
2. Hud
3. Sweet Bird Of Youth
4. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
5. The Long Hot Summer
6. Cool Hand Luke
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. The Sting
9. The Verdict
10. Absence of Malice
11. The Color of Money
12. Nobody's Fool

I listed 12 because some may disagree with one or two.

The point remains: Who compares?

In addition to being a cinematic national treasure, Newman was also one of our greatest philanthropists. His charity work is the stuff of legend.

We've lost one of our greatest citizens. A role model for all who cared to look and pay attention.

Paul, you'll be missed deeply.

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Seems Low to Me

Slashdot | Quarter of Workers' Time Online Is Personal

"Most people spend more than 25 per cent of their time online at work on personal activities. And 80 per cent of emails sent by volume in the workplace are personal. Bosses often have no way of tracking Internet activity or policies to define what staff can and cannot do. Paul Hortop, who reviews company network security for consultancy Voco, said the most common websites visited by personal web surfers were online trading sites, instant messaging/chat services and peer-to-peer sharing sites (allowing movie, music and software sharing)."

Ebert on 'Choke'

Choke :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews

All the pieces are here, but you have to glue the kite together to make it fly. "Choke" centers on a character who is content to be skanky and despicable, and who does not reform, although the plot seems to be pushing him alarmingly in that direction.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did read the book and found it to be disjointed. SO Ebert's first line about the movie seems to me to correct so far as the story would go. It was extremely funny at times, sometimes for a long time. But at the end of the day, it left me feeling bad about things in general. I think Rockwell would be perfectly cast though. I'll be giving it a watch.

That's Pretty Sweet

Electronista | Samsung brings 8MP camera to touch phones

The M8800 Pixon is the first known touchscreen cellphone to carry an eight-megapixel camera and carries extra photography features normally reserved for dedicated cameras, including blink and face detection, a wide dynamic color range and image stabilization. Video capture is also sharper than most at a roughly DVD-level 720x480 at full speed.

Sweet!

Bookmarks: Foxmarks Takes Your Bookmarks Mobile

Bookmark-syncing application Foxmarks has updated their site to support easy access to your bookmarks from your iPhone, iPod touch, or other mobile device. Last week we highlighted O-Marks, an native iPhone application that syncs bookmarks to your iPhone. O-Marks requires you to access those bookmarks outside your browser, though, which isn't ideal, and it seems like a bit of an overkill for something as simple as bookmarks. With the Foxmarks update, just point your mobile browser to my.foxmarks.com, and it'll serve up the mobile interface of your bookmarks complete with search. It's fast and easy to use, but I'd throw in a vote for opening links in new windows so you can switch back to it more easily. A direct bookmark sync with mobile Safari would be ideal, but the mobile version of Foxmarks is a close second. Don't have an iPhone? The Foxmarks update includes a similar small screen interface for your mobile device, too.

I already use foxmarks to keep my bookmarks synced between machines. This will be a nice addition to the iPod Touch in my pocket.