Entertainment These Days....

Just got home from seeing Avatar (playing in a theater near you). This was a visually stunning and generally fun movie; escapism at it's best. However because it was escapist, it failed to strike any kind of resonance. Which in my opinion is the problem with movies these days.

Instead of aiming high and telling a story for the ages the industry settles for something that will draw a crowd. I am not saying that there aren't new and original stories out there. There are plenty of great, interesting writers. But those movies are usually attached to a low budget and carry the word "independent" in the trailer. The art of true storytelling is not often coupled with the money that is thrown at blockbusters.

I believe that good stories only become blockbusters when a big industry name backs it (see Schindler's List, Cast Away, Dark Knight) or someone is truly committed a la Lord of the Rings or Titanic. But too many movies these days pander to the masses and fail to be great or even good. Deep down we want to be inspired, too come away from a movie thinking or wanting too be more.

Escapist movies are like popcorn. Sure it tastes good but it doesn't fill you up.

Stay tuned for a much longer diatribe on how the Hollywoods has destroyed sci-fi.

The Enemy of Good Enough

I love the quote "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good enough." Because while there is nothing wrong with striving to be perfect, too often it becomes a road block. I like this post on Get Rich Slowly, in it J.D. relates this principle to financial planning.

The same applies in life. When we beat ourselves up for not being perfect we fail to see that we are good enough.

And good enough is a heck of a lot better than nothing at all.

In B flat

This is one cool webpage. As the website says

"In Bb 2.0 is a collaborative music and spoken word project conceived by Darren Solomon from Science for Girls, and developed with contributions from users.
The videos can be played simultaneously -- the soundtracks will work together, and the mix can be adjusted with the individual volume sliders."

If you are interested in music I suggest you click on over.

I really had fun.

Space.. the Final Frontier

This awesome picture depicts the history of man's (read America)exploration of space (read our solar system). Thought it was pretty cool.

See more by the creator here

Flying

I am going to be flying again in the next couple days. I feel like since I graduated from college I have done a lot of flying. I prefer flying to driving any day! Well technically I prefer flying alone to driving alone. Apparently I am alone in this thought. This article on "Why People Aren't Flying" is an interesting look at the numbers of people flying and motivations behind the drop.
I especially like what he says about riding the train. Having done my share of train hopping in Europe I can honestly say I think train travel is fantastic. If America was smaller and trains cheaper I would take them all the time.
As for the other argument on the hassle of air travel. Well I don't really see it. Of course I always pack light and carry on. Plus I print my boarding pass and check-in before hand. Then all I really need to do is hop on the plane. I have found that to be pretty easy. Almost as easy as the train!

Book Of Odds

The Book of Odds is a compendium of statistics that is supposed to make it easier for us to understand statistics... Okay so my college Statistics class was hands down my lowest grade EVER. But this is actually interesting and fun. You will have to register for the more advanced stuff.

Some examples:
The odds a child 5 - 17 living with a single parent is unhappy or depressed are 1 in 17.24
The odds a married female 15 - 44 has given birth once are 1 in 4.44
The odds a never-married female 16 or older will volunteer in a year are 1 in 4.44
1 in 26.15 registered motor vehicles have vanity plates

Women's Happiness

Being single and working I found this paper entilted "The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness" very interesting. The authors abstract states:
The lives of women in the United States have improved over the past
35 years by many objective measures, yet we show that measures of
subjective well-being indicate that women’s happiness has declined
both absolutely and relative to men. This decline in relative wellbeing
is found across various datasets, measures of subjective wellbeing,
demographic groups, and industrialized countries. Relative
declines in female happiness have eroded a gender gap in happiness
in which women in the 1970s reported higher subjective well-being
than did men. These declines have continued and a new gender gap
is emerging—one with higher subjective well-being for men.

I plan on reading this eventually. I feel that it is just one more proof that the Gospel is the way to go. I also have a feeling that my sisters will find this an interesting read. If you read it tell me what you think!

Piano Stairs

Introducing the piano stairs.


Read here for an interesting analysis

Good Question

This article asks a great question. "So what did Obama do to get the Nobel Peace Prize?" Unfortunately the answer is pretty lame. If I had the time, or inclination I would look up what the typical schedule is for a new president. My guess? It probably isn't very different from what is in the article.

Visual Music

Two awesome videos that help to visual music. As my Mom said it helps you to see just why the song is so pleasing to the ear. I have heard both of these pieces before but the video made me understand them in a different way
Beethoven's 5th Symphony


And Mozart's Symphony #40 in G Minor


(oh and I got this from OpenCulture-sweet blog)

Good Dating Practices

Have you ever watched those 1950's instructional videos? They can be silly but sometimes I wish we still had them. I know a lot of people that would benefit from this simple and direct advice on dating.
Some highlights: "All boy huddles and all girl huddles carried on too long can get to be a bore"
"Party skill is gained by just one thing; practice and more practice"
"All it required was a little courage and good etiquette. Etiquette that is based on nothing more than consideration of others"
"Lack of consideration can spoil our partners good time."

If you have 11 minutes to spare I recommend giving this a go.

Bad Handwriting

I am ashamed at my lack of good penmanship. I have often been told that I write wrong. I grip the pencil between my thumb and forefinger and then tend to cock my wrist at a 90 degree angle. I also write in a drawn out cursive, mostly because my print letters are embarrassing. I wonder why my writing is so awful but a new article in Time draws attention to "the death of handwriting". The article is worth the read and makes me feel a little better about my own atrocious script. After reading through it I feel comfortable blaming my public school education (sorry Ms. Merrill).

The Times They Are A Changing

The other day my friend told me how her three year old was baffled by a cassette tape.
"What's that?" he exclaimed.
It made me think of how much things have changed just in my life time. I am not the only one Wired has put together a list of "100 Things Your Kids May Never Know About." It is a good list (if a bit techie at times). I could probably add a few more but will save it for another time.

Blogging as Therapy and Customer Service

A friend of mine once told me that blogging was a mode of therapy for her. That really isn't my style but today I am making an exception.
My internet carrier is Verizon. For over a year now we have got along pretty well. But in the last month I have found myself without internet for almost two weeks (at various times). To be fair when I complained they gave me a month free. But truthfully I don't want free internet that only works half the time! It got fixed today and if it stays fixed I will soon forget my angst.

However the whole experience has made me think about the state of customer service in America. With Verizon I talked with Indians. They are very polite but leave the impression of a automaton. Perhaps they are too polite? After watching "Outsourced" I feel bad being rude to them. I try to be polite but that doesn't keep me from getting frustrated.
On my recent vacation I was struck by the different types of customer service we received. By far the people in Ireland were the best. Laid back and cheerful, more like human beings than "service providers". In other places we had, shall we say less positive experiences...
But in America I often think that good customer service is a hard thing to find.
I don't have anything else really. Just some thoughts.

The Paradigm Shift

There is a joke in my family about "paradigm shifting". The joke isn't about the concept of radically changing the way you think by reevaluating your basic assumptions. The joke is about using cliches and phrases instead of just saying what you mean. That being said... I think I am having a paradigm shift.
I can't articulate it yet but things are definitely shifting.
To aid in your own small shift watch this video. It really made me re-think how I should approach the world.

Additionally check out the wikipedia article on Paradigm Shifts (fast fowarded to the marketing speech sub-heading).

You Can't Take It With You

I struggle with the daily grind. Ever since I was a kid I always yearned for something more extraordinary than everyday life. I think that is one of the reasons I joined the Army. It is also one of the reasons I want to travel.
In preparing for my Europe trip I have read a lot of travel blogs. Most of them are by long term travelers; people who go months or years living out of a backpack. A lot of these writers advocate travel as an escape from the daily grind. It is a tempting concept to throw off all responsibility and just drift. However this drifting would be too much like laziness to my Puritan ethic.
Enter You Can't Take It With You . A Frank Capra movie from 1938 that explores the dangers of taking work or life too seriously. The story focuses on two families. One rich and intent on making deals and owning monopolies. The other completely content to do whatever brings them joy. The venerable patriarch of the family rejected the business life 35 years ago when he realized he wasn't having any fun. He then fosters that sentiment in others.
I enjoyed the story because for them escaping the daily grind didn't mean traveling far from home or giving up on traditional society. Rather it emphasized the need to find happiness in work and to value friends and family; to find joy where you are and in everyday life.
I think the secret to escaping the daily grind is to do something everyday that strengthens your relationships with yourself, family, friends, or God. That if you look life is full of fun and excitement.

(FYI this isn't the best clip but there isn't a lot of old movies on the Internet)

Swine Flu Really?

Because lets face it this whole thing is getting a bit ridiculous.

It almost feels like people want us to focus on this made up issue instead of focusing on our real issues.
For good info on the Swine Flu see here:
CDC

The Trouble with Computers

I love technology; except when I don't. I had a rough draft for a stellar post. It was all about the documentary "Maxed Out". My thoughts and frustrations. However when I left my laptop it self-restarted because it self-updated and my entry didn't self-save.

The computer while a great invention can be frustrating and annoying. Maybe I get disappointed because I expect to much from them. If I lowered expectations I would probably be better off.

Since I am going to re-write my "Maxed Out" review later. I will just leave you with some great commentary on the foibles of technology.



Maybe I should get a Mac?
Course this one makes a good point...

Happy Easter

I hope your Easter is peaceful and reflective. To help with that see the video below.

Leading A More Productive Life

Wanted to share this blog post. It is from a blog I read regularly and it has some great observations about accomplishing goals. I see it as an explanation for why we always make the same New Years Resolutions or why some things are always on the "to-do" list. It is long but is well worth the time.

International vs Local

This video is a short lecture on international news coverage. I found it interesting as a geographer and it brought up some interesting questions. See below for my commentary.


Initially I was excited about the presenters use of maps. As a geography major I am keenly aware of how maps impact our perceptions. The news map did an excellent and powerful job of conveying her initial point. As she delved deeper into her topic I found myself agreeing with her. When I did a regional news study on the South Asian region I had a very hard time getting anything detailed. This despite the then new eruption of civil war in Sri Lanka and Nepal. But as she talked about local news coverage a thought began to pound at my brain.

"Is it really that important to be informed on world news?"

In college I would have emphatically said yes. Now I wonder. For thousands of years humans across the planet lived and died knowing very little about the wider world. Even with our increased communications and transportation most people confine their daily life to a small geographic area. An earthquake in Italy might be interesting but it doesn't really impact those living in Utah. However an Amber alert or news of road construction is important and useful information.

So what is the role of news? What is fit to print? These are questions I could probably answer if I had ever taken a journalism class. But for now I will just have to think on it.

A Change in Style

It was brought to my attention that to have a blog and to be a blogger are two very different things. Currently I have a blog but I am not a blogger. Mostly this is because I haven't figured out what kind of blogger I want to be. I do know that I don't want to be the type that seldom updates. I also don't want the blog to be all about my personal life. I do want it to be informative and interesting. A place where my friends can learn something.
So in my quest for a blogger birth I am going to start experimenting with different types of entries. Feel free to tell me what you like and what falls flat.

Any Suggestions?

Constantly on the look out for new stuff, I am always trying to get suggestions for stuff to watch, listen to, or read. This can be difficult. Friends suggest books that I find boring. Co-workers rave about movies I end up sleeping through. New bands don't seem to be as good as my old standards. If you have this problem let me recommend a couple cool web utilities

For music: Pandora. I have already got my entire family hooked on Pandora. Pandora is an online radio station program. Using an artist you enjoy they consult their vast database to find music that is similar. Sometimes they play stuff I already know and love but mostly it is new. Pandora also learns the more you use it. As you listen you can give songs a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Pandora uses these ratings to fine tune what they play. You can have up to 100 stations which provides tons of variety. If you haven't tried it you should.

For books: Amazon. You can use the online bookstore to help you find things you might want to read. Amazon tracks the buying habits of their shoppers (can you say Big Brother?) this gives them a large database. You can use that vast database to your advantage. To do this log into your Amazon account. Make a wish list of all your favorite and most hated books. Then from your Amazon homepage click on "improve my recommendations" and rate your books. Amazon will now give solid recommendations based on those ratings. If you already have lists or a long buying history with Amazon just go straight to "improve my recommendations". Conceivably you could do the same thing for movies but I like to use something else.

For movies: Netflix. We all know I love Netflix. Like Amazon, Netflix tracks its users activity to create recommendations. These recommendations can be spookily accurate and like Pandora the more you rate the better they are. If you don't want to pay for a subscription you can still use Netflix to get great recommendations. All you do is sign-up for a free trial. Then before they can send you any movies (or before the month is up) put a hold on the account. This way you can rate movies, recieve recommendations but don't have to pay. However keeping Netflix on the lowest plan is only going to set you back $5 a month and is well worth it.

For all three: Tastkid. Tastekid is the simplest and easiest tool to use. Simply type in a band, book or movie you like and it will spit out ten suggestions. The suggestions are varied and pretty accurate considering the amount of information you gave it. I recently introduced my sister to this and she was enthralled. I highly recommend it for those times when you just want a good suggestion with minimal effort.


So now you have no excuse not to be constantly finding new and interesting things to read, watch or listen to. Good luck and drop me any good suggestions you might have!

"And Then I Feel Mortality Surround Me"

This last week I have been preparing paperwork for my will and a health care power of attorney. Not because I expect to die in the near future, but because I believe in being prepared. But placing a dollar amount on my life has put death on my mind.
In Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic Death is a character that shows up when the hero is in dire circumstances. Death also figures hilariously in Good Omens a novel by both Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (who is probably my favorite modern author). In these novels he is personified with the typical cloak and scythe but has a much better sense of humor. (Incidentally I just remembered that in 5th grade I was the Grim Reaper, with a blood-stained tinfoil scythe, for Halloween.) The personification of death in this way is really just an attempt to make sense of something that can seem random and impersonal.
As a member of the United States military I have many friends currently serving or preparing to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. Because of this I have prepared myself for the possibility of having to attend their funerals. But I was shocked today when I learned that the little sister of a good high school friend had died. Death in a combat zone I understand. Death on a Idaho highway is hard to wrap my head around. Yet it is not all darkness.
The death of such a young, and vibrant person is sad but with a knowledge of the Plan of Salvation I know it isn't a tragedy. She will be reunited with her husband and have the opportunity to raise children. She will continue to live and grow. My heart and prayers go out to her family. I hope they also know that despite the pain and sadness that death brings it is not the end.
My knowledge and testimony of the Gospel gives me peace and understanding when dealing with death. I still fear it and don't know if I could ever be like Peter Pan and declare; "to die will be an awfully big adventure". I am content with having peace and comfort. The rest will have to come later.

Who Needs DishNetwork?

I canceled my DishNetwork contract yesterday. Because of my geographic location (the middle of no and where) this means I will be without any television service. A couple years ago this would have left me with very few entertainment options. But in the brave new world of 2009 there are a lot of possibilities.
When I moved into my apartment I discovered neither broadcast nor cable TV (or the new digital channels) were available. My only two options were DirectTV or DishNetwork. I signed up for the basic package and was soon paying $45 a month. Because I had a roommate I considered this an acceptable expense. When my roommate moved out I began to resent the $540 a year bill. SoI began to research different options.
Since college I have used the Internet to download and stream television. However using my 15 inch laptop as both my computer and my television is problematic. I often use the television to drown out the deafening silence of my empty apartment. This is a job ill suited to my laptop. Also I am a big fan of the "two screen experience" ie watching TV while surfing the Internet (sometimes as background noise).
I began to search for a solution that was inexpensive and allowed me to use my television. I found several great hacks (linked below) but most of these required me to use my laptop in some shape or form. For a long time I wanted to turn my TV into a second monitor. With a new LCD tv this is a good option but it didn't easily work with my current television. It was while browsing through Netflix that I finally found my solution.
I am an unabashed fan of Netflix. For a small fee I have access to a wide variety of movies and television shows. I actively use both their mail delivery and their Watch Instantly online streaming service. I was aware of the ability to stream Instant online content to a television via a receiver but waiting for a TV show to go to DVD before watching it seemed like a special form of torture. So when I discovered that I can also stream new television episodes from Netflix the day after they air I was sold on getting a Roku receiver.
The Roku is a small receiver that has built in wi-fi capability. You hook it up to your television and it uses your Internet connection to stream Netflix straight to your television. It can also stream from Amazon's Unbox service and is continuing to expand. Pricing in at $99 it is a much cheaper solution than a new laptop or television.
In an increasingly budget conscious society that wants to "have it your way", satellite television with its bloated prices and extraneous channels should be nervous. If my solution works out I don't plan on ever paying for television again.

Other Non-Satellite Options

Stop Paying For Cable Television But Keep Up With Your Favorite Shows
Six Ways To Catch Your Favorite TV Shows

*Eventually I plan on creating an entire system with a laptop and large LCD screen (but that is far, far into the future)