Red All Over

brian on 2008.08.30
at 01:51 pm

Talk about the Red camera has really shaken up people in video circles. If you haven’t heard about it, and especially if you have, you’ll really want to read the biography of the RED camera that Wired has written.

You may be interested that Red was founded by the billionaire founder of Oakley optics, Jim Jannard. It winds up that he’s a passionate and fascinating figure, not unlike a Steve Jobs, who is entirely driven by innovation and making the ideal solution. He has been intimately involved in the design and construction of the product.

A good read. Plus, check out the bottom line of Red’s web site.

Posted in: Photography · Movies

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Benjamin Button Has A Curious Graphic Novel

jake on 2008.08.27
at 12:34 pm

You’re probably aware that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is being made into a movie (with Brad Pitt no less). But you might not be aware of its original form as a short story. And that, as usual, Hollywood has veered off in their execution.

Surprisingly Kevin Cornell, illustrator of A List Apart articles, is the visual side behind a graphic novel treatment of the tale. The images he shares on his blog are gorgeous. I can’t wait to get my hands on this book in October.

From i love typography

Posted in: Design · Books

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Over analyzing things out of frustration: Mummy Edition.

jake on 2008.08.04
at 10:57 am

Saturday was a lovely day. After an afternoon at Connecticon and a lovely dinner with some “awesome” friends we attended a showing of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Whoops.

I’d like to preface this by saying I didn’t run screaming from the theater or attempt to jab Twizzlers into my eyes. There are worse movies in existence. But I spent more time laughing at this movie than with it. Pretending this movie can be spoiled, spoilers follow.

You may have seen yeti being showcased in the previews on TV. Well there are a few of them, and they’re good guys. Yes, two protagonists can speak Yeti (Brendan Fraser, Rick, marvels at this himself) and ask for some hairy help. While the yeti run around in weak CGI pummeling the Dragon King’s minions I hit my breaking point…

During the tussle a yeti kicks a soldier over an entryway. He checks with another yeti who throws up his arms signaling a successful field goal… What?! This is taking place in 1947. How would a creature out in the Asian wilderness know anything about American Football? He could not have seen it on the barely existent television. I doubt he came to the States to watch it live. Wasn’t it derived from rugby? Are you telling me that the yeti actually invented the sport and Mr. Camp took it from them?

My suspension of disbelief only goes fairly far. And the new Mummy movie broke it. Broke it hard.

Posted in: Rant · Movies

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BBC: Drummers as Fit as Footballers

brian on 2008.08.04
at 12:01 am

“Footballers can normally expect to play 40 to 50 games a year – but in one 12 month period, Clem played 90-minute sets at 100 concerts.

“Footballers find playing a Champions League game once every two weeks a drain, but these guys are doing it every day when they are on tour.

“It is clear that their fitness levels need to be outstanding – through monitoring Clem’s performance in controlled conditions, we have been able to map the extraordinary stamina required by professional drummers.”

Well, wonder if this why I’ve always been reasonably fit.

A hour in concert could burn between 400 and 600 calories, he said.

People have made a habit of calling drummers a lot of things over the years. But “athlete” is a new one. Through middle and high school, it wouldn’t be unusual for me to play for one or two hours nightly, after school. Sometimes this was after playing a sport, too.

Dr Marcus Smith, from Chichester University says I was healthy when I was playing often. Clearly I need to get back into that habit.

Posted in: Music · Sports

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Where I Rant About a Poor Experience with Comcast Self-Service

brian on 2008.08.02
at 09:22 pm

I went to Comcast’s web site tonight to attempt some web self-service. I realized that after my most recent TiVo difficulties, that once I got the software re-installed that a few video settings were still running on their defaults, which weren’t the proper settings for my HDTV. When it dawned on me why all my HD channels were letter boxed, I dug back into fix them. When I got to where I needed to change the setting, I couldn’t recall whether I was supposed to use 720i Fixed or 720i Hybrid. I remember researching this in the user manual for the box, but thanks to our office becoming a nursery, there was no way to find that manual without hours of digging.

I thought to myself, “I remember seeing a QuickTips PDF on the TiVo portion of Comcast’s site. Maybe they have all the user manuals there too! That would make things much easier.”

Instead, I got caught in a loop on this page I couldn’t escape. The service page said I could write an email to their head honcho of support, so I did. This is the part where I ranted.

(more after the jump)

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Posted in: Design · Web

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