The Dark Knight
Eckhart, think of the future!
I come away from The Dark Knight, with mixed feelings.
Bottom line - I'm OK with being part of the opening weekend box, and I'll get myself a copy on DVD not long after it comes out. In other words, I feel good about investing in the franchise. But I still came away with expectations unmet.
The pacing of the movie isn't quite steady; too many places where it felt about ready to wrap up, and then had to rebuild toward the next piece. Maybe the problem was the narrative, or my assumption of the narrative, The flow ends up breaking the immersion.
The cast is a mix of actors and characters - in particular, I think I'm tired of the pap chemistry thing. That would be you, Mr. Freeman; and to a lesser extent Mr. Caine. I actually want to forgive Caine a little bit - he's doing well on choices I didn't like; in fact, I came away thinking of Sir Alec, a little bit, in that he kept things small. It's still too damn transparent - it should be easier to distinguish Alfred from Cutter.
I think the cowl slipped on Bale this time around - his Bruce lost a little bit of that public facade that keeps him out of suspicion.
There is one actor I want to single out, and I didn't succeed in figuring out who it was that was playing the role; but there's a big actor playing one of the convicts that was brilliant - abso-fuck--in-glute-ly brilliant - in the two minute scene he was featured in.
And then Ledger. I'm having a real hard time with that one, so lets break it down into parts.
1) Was I watching a character, or an actor? Character - absolutely. That was somebody else on screen.
2) Was the character real, in manner and motivation? Another checkmark. Nearly total immersion - ruined a touch by the fact that I was watching this performance.
3) Was the performance consistent? Yes.
4) Was it The Joker? No, I don't accept that he was. His motivations weren't nearly disturbing enough (should I be disturbed that I didn't find that character disturbing?).
OK, Spoilers Ho!
[more ]Software performance
Life is just so much better when programs go unnecessarily fast.
Math in the round
One times eight is eight
Four times three is twelve
Seven and Seven and Seven and Seven
Less five is twenty three....
Look! A Windmill
Not having felt enough abuse, Atwood revisits the Angle Bracket Tax
I just can't escape the notion that he's attributing his symptoms to the wrong problem. That is, I agree with him that that if you are trying to figure out an XML file, that there is a problem. I just don't accept quite so readily as he the idea that the problem is the XML.
Parallel notion - when I find myself trying to figure out java byte codes, I have as yet somehow managed to avoid the conclusion "Wow, java byte codes suck - they really should be replaced with something more easily consumed by humans". I've likewise failed to reach that conclusion when starting at windows executables, or jpeg files, or zipped archives.
I'd instead call attention to the facts that (1) the normal flow for a use case should never involve presenting "raw" XML to the user, and (2) the use case should include the state of mind of the user, requiring that it at least be addressed by the solution. Part of the problem with XML configuration files is that the user is already unhappy (if the software were doing what he wanted, he wouldn't be trying to modify the configuration) and then you make that worse by filling his nose with angle brackets.
Domain registration
ICanHasCheerleader.com is still available? how the hell did that happen?
He's good, but he's no Willie Mays
Jay Bruce: 26AB, 15H, 3 doubles, 3 HR
Willie Mays: 26AB, 1H, 0 doubles, 1 HR
NCMEC
Required reading: Shumeet Baluja, ...
So somebody's job was spending the entire day sifting through child pornography, and Shipstone just went and automated it. What happened to "do no evil"?
Warning: Childhood ends, 500 feet
The end of the Boston celebrity broadcaster. Hat tip to Bill Simmons.
It's not quite fair to say that their careers match my life - they all started between the time I was born and when I first started paying attention to anything other than the Children's Television Workshop.
Bob Lobel I'm sure I remember from the time he joined Upton Bell on "Calling All Sports" (254-5678 is the number to call); heck, I even remember thinking that they were brothers based on the surnames (Boblo Bell? why not).
Kulhawik if I'm remembering correctly, did movie reviews for the 30 minute entertainment program we used as a model when doing a video project in 4th grade - Leo Sakellarion playing Kulhawik's role as the movie reviewer (just in case any of his students are surfing the web).
You can't go home again.
Opinion or Fact
Does your software distinguish data that represents opinions from data that represents facts?
Are you sure? Pretty sure....
Y'all seem to be watching a different trailer than I am.