Pixar Top To Bottom

Just for the heck of it I decided I'd put up my ranking of Pixar's films to-date (they've done 10 so far):

1. Finding Nemo
2. Toy Story
3. Ratatouille
4. Up
5. Toy Story 2
6. WALL-E
7. The Incredibles
8. Monster's, Inc.
9. A Bug's Life
10. Cars

It's hard to not put Toy Story at the top of the list but if I did it would be mainly out of a sense of nostalgia. It moved the bar so much higher for animation that it's hard to put it anywhere else but, then again, Finding Nemo was nearly as revolutionary and, in ways, more complete of a film.

Ratatouille worked for me in almost every way. The love story is great and any film that can make rats lovable deserves praise.

At the bottom of the list Cars did almost nothing for me. They're hunks of metal and I didn't buy the premise at all. It was cute and Pixar did all they could with it but it seemed more like a sell-out to merchandising to me.

A Bug's Life was interesting and the imagery was incredible in its day but the story still fell flat. You'd think that since it features a character named Heimlich that I'd have a tighter bond with this film and that says even more about it being on the bottom of my list.

Monster's, Inc. was funny but it was just too strange for me overall.

Getting The Low Down On Up

This weekend found me catching Pixar's latest film, Up. I had a feeling that this might be something special. As of yesterday I couldn't locate even a single negative review of the film. Critics of all types seemed to find magic in this film.

We saw it in 3D but I am fairly certain that seeing it without 3D wouldn't take anything away.

To be fair, it's a really strange film. The plot is so absolutely over-the-top that it seems hard to believe you can enjoy it without cringing, and yet you do.

The first several minutes or so are all setup to the main story. We get an amazing backdrop montage about the main character taking us from his earliest days up to his current status as a mature senior citizen. The culmination of this sequence is so poignant that it impacted all ages throughout the entire theater. You could hear a pin drop.

For a movie with a seemingly paper-thin concept it keeps you guessing and pulling for the protagonists. The film has as much substance as any traditional movie you could name. The fact that the actors here are nothing more than computer generated figments doesn't matter one bit.

The movie's tone is, in my view, entirely new for Pixar. It's easily their most sensitive endeavor to date. Initially I was concerned about the theater full of children and yet Pixar manages to present rather mature emotions in a way they can handle and relate to.

The music is nothing special here except that it fits the movie like a glove. It also reminded me, at least the first few notes, of previous efforts. There's no Randy Newman-type pieces here and that's just fine.

Another nice bit is the traditional short that's shown just before all of Pixar's main feature. This one is called Partly Cloudy and it's a wonderful pairing for Up. It's a touching fairytale about clouds that conjure up newborns of all species to be handed off to awaiting storks for delivery. The story focuses on a dark cloud that has difficulty making creations that are as cute and cuddly of those of his sky-mates. It sets the stage wonderfully for the feature film.

Overall this is one of Pixar's best achievements. It's another winner in a seemingly endless streak of success. While I do believe a few of their other films top it, Up firmly belongs close to the very top of that list.

Death Of A Great Idea

On May 18th HDGiants (formerly known as MusicGiants) filed for bankruptcy. By Friday only the CEO and one tech support guy were left working there. Everyone else has been let go.

This is sad news for me. HDGiants was the only source for CD-quality (lossless) digital music. They made the future seem even brighter when, late last year, they announced that they'd be dropping DRM protection in all of their music.

In addition they'd been working towards providing Firefox support (the service only worked cleanly with Internet Explorer and MediaPlayer).

Now it seems the future will have to be reached without them.

I reached out to the company several times to try and let them know what was important to me and why I was holding off on any purchases. Why would I spend any money on annoying protected content when, supposedly, unprotected, no-hassle music was just around the corner?

There concept was a real winner for people like me. For those not familar with it, it worked just like iTunes except that their music was of the highest possible quality all for just $1.99 a track. That's still slightly more than I hoped to pay but acceptable. Paying $1 a track for crippled, limited quality music is not my idea of acceptable.

Now it appears I'll have no choice but to go back to CD's.

Will There Be A GM Vehicle In Your Driveway?

I just got done reading a news article about the changes General Motors (GM) is going through and how those changes will affect the company across the board. My response to this article was rather surprising and worth noting.

Conservative pundits are lambasting the government and equating their support of GM and Chrysler as clear signs of socialism. They say the government is nationalizing the auto industry. My take has been the same from the start. First, it's not nationalizing if the government doesn't unilaterally take over all US auto manufacturers and, second, it was GM and Chrysler that asked for the help. The government, and thus by extension, the people have a right to not only expect some sort of leverage but are correct to demand leverage just as any investor in any venture would command.

The interesting part here is that GM is now going to re-open a previously shuttered factory to build new, smaller, more efficient cars. Industry experts are saying that the emerging company is taking on the look of a manufacturer that will be fully on par with its overseas competitors. The catch is that they'll need to survive bankruptcy and the downturn throughout the market. All of that stokes interest for me in a brand I long ago abandoned any interest in.

GM hasn't made a single vehicle that excited me in at least a decade and likely two or more. They seemed like a company creating vehicles for people living in the past. Now, given all the effort and retooling I want to be both supportive and patriotic. If they can put out a line of cars that truly are seen as comparable and competitive I will be right at the head of the line to consider buying one and that is no small feat. Certainly I can't be alone in this new-found optimism.

Imagine the success story in the making here should this pan out. One of America's oldest firms goes to the brink of collapse to be saved by the very country it helped build (any why isn't that thankful view ever talked about?). Instead of just dumping 100% of its workforce into the abyss of unemployment it instead begins to turn around creating a whole new generation of more cutting-edge jobs and opportunities here in this country. It creates a line of vehicles that stand up against anything the competition puts out and does so all while repaying the people for its help. That is a story I want to be a part of. I can purchase a car and help not only an icon of the country but to also help repay myself in the process. I, for one, am hopeful.

Memorable Memorial Day Story

At first there was no place for us to go
Until someone put up that "Black Granite Wall."
Now, every day and night, my Brothers and my Sisters wait
To see the many people from places afar file in front of this "Wall."
Many stopping briefly and many for hours
And some that come on a regular basis.

It was hard at first,
Not that it's gotten any easier,
But it seems that many of the attitudes towards that Vietnam War
We were involved in
Have changed.

I can only pray that the ones on the other side
Have learned something,
And more "Walls" as this one,
Needn't be built.

Several members of my unit,
And many that I did not recognize,
Have called me to The Wall
By touching my name engraved upon it.
The tears aren't necessary, but are hard even for me to hold back.

Don't feel guilty for not being with me, my Brothers.
This was my destiny as it is yours, to be on that side of The Wall.

Touch The Wall, my Brothers,
So that we can share in the memories that we had.
I have learned to put the bad memories aside
And remember only the pleasant times that we had together.
Tell our other Brothers out there to come and visit me,
Not to say: "Goodbye",
But to say: "Hello",
And be together again. . .even for a short time. . .
And to ease that pain of loss that we all still share.

Today, an irresistible and loving call summons me to The Wall.
As I approach, I can see an elderly lady. . .
And as I get closer, I recognize her. . .
It's Momma!
As much as I have looked forward to this day,
I have also dreaded it,
Because I didn't know what reaction I would have.

Next to her, I suddenly see my wife,
And immediately think how hard it must have been for her
To come to this place.
And my mind floods with the pleasant memories of thirty years past.
There's a young man in a military uniform
Standing with his arm around her---My God!---He has to be my son!

Look at him trying to be the man without a tear in his eye.
I yearn to tell him how proud I am,
Seeing him standing tall, straight and proud in his uniform.

Momma comes closer and touches The Wall.
And I feel the soft and gentle touch I had not felt in so many years.
Dad has crossed to this side of The Wall,
And through our touch,
I try to convey to her that Dad is doing fine,
And is no longer suffering or feeling pain.

I see my wife's courage building,
As she sees Momma touch The Wall.
And she approaches and lays her hand on my waiting hand.
All the emotions, feelings and memories of three decades past
Flash between our touch
And I tell her that:
It's alright . . . Carry on with your life. . .And don't worry about me.
I can see as I look into her eyes that she hears,
And a big burden has been lifted from her,
On wings of understanding.

I watch as they lay flowers and other memories of my past.
My lucky charm that was taken from me and sent to her by my CO,
A tattered and worn teddy bear that I can barely remember having
As I grew up. . .As a child,
And several medals that I had earned and were presented to my wife.
One is the Combat Infantry Badge that I am very proud of,
And I notice that my son is also wearing this medal.
I had earned mine in the jungles of Vietnam,
And he had probably earned his in the deserts of Iraq.

I can tell that they are preparing to leave,
And I try to take a mental picture of them together,
Because I don't know when I will see them again.
I wouldn't blame them if they were not to return,
And can only thank them that I was not forgotten.

My wife and Momma near The Wall for one final touch,
And so many years of indecision fear and sorrow are let go.

As they turn to leave,
I feel my tears that had not flowed for so many years,
Form as if dew drops on the other side of The Wall.

They slowly move away with only a glance over their shoulders.
My son suddenly stops and slowly returns.
He stands straight and proud in front of me,
And snaps a salute!

Something draws him near The Wall
And he puts his hand upon etched stone
And touches my tears that had formed dew drops
On the face of The Wall. . .
And I can tell that he senses my presence,
And the pride and love I have for him.
He falls to his knees and the tears flow from his eyes,
And I try my best to reassure him that:
It's alright,
And the tears do not make him less of a man.

As he moves back wiping the tears from his eyes,
He silently mouths:
"God Bless you, Dad . . . ."

God Bless, YOU, Son . . .
We WILL meet someday,
But in the meanwhile, go on your way.
There is no hurry. . .There is no hurry at all.

As I see them walk off in the distance,
I yell out to THEM
And EVERYONE there today,
As loud as I can. . .

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

And as others on this side of The Wall join in,
I notice that the U.S. Flag,
Old Glory,
That so proudly flies in front of us every day,
Is flapping and standing proudly straight out in the wind
From our gathering numbers this day.
And we shout again. . .
And . . . again . . .
And. . .again . . .

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!

by: Patrick Camunes

4+ Hours Of Radio Fun

Yesterday I had to head up to Manhattan from my home in South Jersey (2+ hours each way). I filled the time doing what I often do by listening to the various conservative radio shows. What an experience.

It started off with the often entertaining Glenn Beck. Interestingly enough I had gotten up yesterday to news of a major rift that happened between Beck and members of the show The View. Apparently Beck was on the same train as Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters and Steve Kroft (of 60 Minutes) for the trip down to Washington for the correspondents dinner. Beck was due to be a guest on The View and this was discussed. The trouble starts with how Beck described this interaction. Watch the appearance.

On his radio show Beck starts off by claiming that Walters and group had reserved seats on the Amtrak train. You can't reserve seats on this train so that part of the story needs to be resolved. He then states that Walters approached him to introduce herself. He describes this by using a ridiculing voice for the others and a reserved, surprised voice (and words) for himself.

Whoopi calls him out on this on the show by replaying Beck's commentary for him and then calling him, flat-out, a "lying sack of dog mess." The following minutes of the show Beck clearly tries to weasel out of the situation by back-tracking, etc. He fails miserably.

Now back to my listening to his show. He's going on with his annoying producer about the experience on the show and continues to ridicule everyone involved. He's decided to reduce this down to the most basic of issues. He claims that the only thing wrong is that he got the order of who said hello first wrong and that this is all that happened. It isn't. Beck clearly took this exchange, twisted it to his own preference of order and tried to turn it into something he could use on his show to boost his own ego and to denigrate Walters and Goldberg. He also seriously insulted Walters during the show as a has-been with nothing better to do.

Glenn, give it up. Your denials and continued ranting on this just make you look worse than before. You screwed up. You made a mistake. You lied about the exchange. Apologize and move on. Instead he's now demanding an apology from everyone on The View. Best of luck there.

So then on the return trip I get to listen to Rush Limbaugh. This is always a treat as my BS meter never lasts more than a minute or two with this guy. Virtually everything he says can be torn apart with the most basic pondering of the facts.

One of the things he's been going on about recently is how President Obama's new push for higher fuel efficiency is going to negatively impact everyone. He claims that these moves will result in everyone having no choice but to buy smaller, inconvenient, unwanted cars that he disparagingly refers to as "putt-putt" cars or "clown" cars.

The biggest point he tried to make was that this move would cause far more deaths because the cars aren't as safe as bigger cars. What he fails to point out is that, if he's correct and we all end up driving these, then the safety factor drops way down as an issue. The reason the stats go up is in the interim when these small cars have to share the road with all the ridiculously-sized monster vehicles on the road. No mention of this angle was made of course.

Furthermore it's just not true. His viewpoint suggests that the auto industry is so lacking in creativity that the only way to get to these new standards is to put us all into tiny cars. Forgive me but I believe in our industry, it seems, more than he does. I believe, now that the industry will be forced to respond, that they'll come up with new approaches and new designs that will meet the criteria necessary while also giving the public what they want.

Think about this. Today many of the vehicles on the road get between 17-26 miles per gallon. Under the new rules cars, by 2016, will have to average 35.5 mpg. We're talking about, at worst, having to find a way to double their efficiency. In many cases it's having to improve mileage by 40% or so. If I were in the business and you suggested we couldn't find ways of doubling mileage in seven years I'd be insulted. The newest Prius models are looking to get 50-60 mpg. I've driven one and it was a pleasure to drive. That's one model. If a decently-sized Prius can get 60 mpg then a sedan can certainly get 35.5 mpg.

Finally, no one will be forcing anyone to buy these cars. The reason they will be in demand is that it's clear that oil prices are going to continue to rise and that Americans realize they have to finally consider gas mileage as a factor in their purchasing for a change. There's nothing wrong with that. If you're Limbaugh and have unlimited funds in your bank account then you can go ahead and keep driving the vehicle of your choice. Of course that will also be a bit of a stigma as it shows you really only care about your own little world but that's another topic.

Sometimes We Go Too Far With PC-awareness

Okay, I'm not sure how this is going to come off especially so close to my other questionable post about Dunkin Donuts but here goes.....

Martin Scorsese is set to bring a to the screen a biopic of Frank Sinatra. This effort has the full backing of the Sinatra family and, because of that, is supposed to be a very honest look at the superstar. I'm left to wonder how truly honest the family is willing to go and what sort of limits they'd put on their support in this. The idea that their support lends depth seems a bit backwards to me.

Anyway, the big news on this is, as expected, who will play Frank Sinatra? The early favorite seemed to be Leonardo DiCaprio given his close relationship and past history with Scorsese. I'm not sure Leo can sing but it'd be hard for anyone to do Sinatra justice.

The surprise is that, as of right now, the leading candidate for playing Sinatra is none other than Jamie Foxx. Foxx did an amazing job, and won the Oscar, for playing Ray Charles in the biopic on him entitled simply Ray.

The news posts on this all cover it with kid gloves calling it, at most, a surprising choice. People, Jamie Foxx is black. Frank Sinatra was white. End of story. Can you imagine the uproar if, in Steven Spielberg's upcoming biopic on Martin Luther King, the lead was being given to a white actor? The only thing that would get an even bigger negative response would be a white actor in face paint. It was funny in a comedy like Robert Downey Jr playing a black character in Tropic Thunder. Not so much here.

The picture above was posted with a note talking about the uncanny resemblance the two have. Are you kidding me? Yes, they are both men. After that it gets a bit sketchy. Has anyone bothered to remember that Sinatra is also known as "Old Blue Eyes"? Are we supposed to watch Foxx with scary, distracting light blue eyes that don't fit his face too? Come on.

I have absolutely nothing against Jamie Foxx. He seems like a decent enough fellow and can really act. However, I don't know too many people that can act so well that you forget their skin color when it doesn't match that of the person being portrayed.

For me this is just another case of trying to drum up interest by doing something shocking. Now the PC crowd is left to say, "Oh, sure. That's great!"

Sorry, no. Not me. I appreciate it when those in casting for these biographic movies try to find someone that actually can resemble the main character. Casting Foxx would be an "interesting" choice. It would also be the wrong one because there just isn't any valid reason for doing it other than to raise eyebrows.

I Can't Wait To See Mars After Missing It

I need to get some of you to do some basic fact-checking before you go sending out e-mails to everyone. Twice in the last week I've gotten the same one about how Mars is going to be the closest it's ever been to Earth in something like 60,000 years and it won't repeat this until--oddly--something like 2287.

Anyway, it's just not true.

This happened in 2003 and now continues forward in hopes of getting us to run out in August to look up and find nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, do any of you recall 2003 being all that amazing? I didn't think so. It was so noteworthy that we didn't even think of it when this story came rolling out again.

When you get these things in your Inbox do yourself a favor and do a simple Google search on the title before sending it out to countless others. It only takes a moment and saves you some embarrassment.

I Went On A Star Trek

I wouldn't call myself a Trekkie or a Trekker. However, I would call myself a fan of the Star Trek series. I know some terms that complete non-fans wouldn't likely know (for example, that TOS stands for "The Original Series") but I wouldn't do very well on Star Trek trivia. Before I get to the movie I think it would help to get some background first:

I liked the aforementioned original series and watch it even today as it's now being updated in HD with most of the special effects getting a major face lift. It's never looked better. As a kid I watched the animated series. I absolutely loved Star Trek: The Next Generation. I think it's the best Star Trek has ever been. I never could get into Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I found it wanting and, frankly, I've never liked the actor Rene Auberjonois to the point of not watching the series as a result. It didn't help that I felt his character was one that was over the top (he played a shape-shifter able to essentially be anything).

Then came the much-maligned Star Trek: Voyager which I enjoyed immensely. It gave us, in my view, the best character the series has ever seen in the Doctor (a holographic projection that has interesting human attributes and desires). TNG's Commander Data is a close second, FYI. It had its flaws but the stories were often up to par with TNG's. Of course then we got the laughable Enterprise but I watched this as well as I'd become desperate for more Trek by the time it appeared.

As far as the movies went nothing topped the first film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It's not that it was a pantheon of filmmaking--it wasn't. It's just that it came along at the right time after a long lay-off from TOS and gave us a chance to re-visit old friends with a story that was compelling enough. It stuck in my mind as a positive from then on. I only liked two of the other films in the entire series. The first was Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan which was the follow-up the the first film. It was just okay but Ricardo Montalban's Khan was noteworthy. The second was Start Trek IV: The Journey Home. It was old at that point and everyone involved knew it. The result was one of the funniest (by design) Trek's we've ever seen along with a pretty decent story. The rest of the films you can keep. They have some moments but none of them made a decent enough dent for me to care.

So that brings us to the current Star Trek movie. I saw the previews and knew I'd see this on opening weekend (I'm just getting to this now due to my busy schedule--sorry). However, as time went on I started getting concerned about the storyline. I'm enough of a fan that I expect tradition to be somewhat kept in tow. This movie takes much of what happened prior and tosses it in the garbage. Oddly, several scenes and comments seem like they're there to tie us into those traditions but when you crap on them in one instance it's hard to appreciate it when you give tribute to it in another.

The look is great and it includes some solid special effects. The characters are also, for the most part, well done. Captain Kirk is played well by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto does a marvelous job as Spock. The biggest annoyance here is the portrayal of helmsman Pavel Chekov. The actor playing him either has the worst Russian accent in history or wanted to distract us at with every spoken word. I couldn't even pay attention to the guy for what he was saying.

The story also failed almost entirely for me. It just didn't involve anything I'd define as memorable. It's been a week and I've forgotten most of it already. There was a lengthy discussion after the movie talking about several confused time lines that just were more confusing than they needed to be. Then there were the tradition-dumps that stuck out heavily. I'd mention them but they'd ruin it for those who haven't seen the film.

In the end it's a movie that is doing quite well and does a decent job of re-starting the series. I just hope it can find a more compelling, less confusing script the next time round.

A Few Moments With Windows 7

For those that may not be aware, Microsoft is working on the next version of Windows that goes by the name, "Windows 7". It's not really due out until later this year but they have made available the Release Candidate to anyone that is interested in trying it out for free. A release candidate is a version of software that the company hopes represents the final version of the product. If all goes well in testing then this is what they release. This version is free to use until July of 2010. At that point it will require you to pay for it or lose access to it.

Vista has been a pretty big disaster for Microsoft so Windows 7 has a lot riding on it. I never took to Vista. For one thing, it came pre-installed on my Dell XPS laptop (even though I tried to get it with XP and couldn't at the time) and never worked right. It would lock up at the drop of a hat (I have to find a new phrase to replace that dated one given that no one really wears hats much these days). Things were so bad on the laptop that I resorted to trying the Linux OS known as Ubuntu and got a lot of mileage out of it. However, that was never optimal either. If Windows 7 can improve upon Vista then it might be the best laptop choice for me. As a gamer I suspect Microsoft will have to work overtime to get me to give up XP on my desktop.

Here are my very rough, very short first impressions:

1. The install went smoothly. I installed "clean" on a partition where Vista existed. It essentially renamed "Windows" to "Windows.old" and I believe that if I dual-boot to it that it'll just rename "Windows.old"back again. Otherwise it would have had to make a slew of registry changes pointing to the new location risking stability. Now that I think of it, it seems more likely that this is what they would have done. However, I have no intention of ever booting back into Vista. It never worked on this machine so good riddance I say.

2. No mention is made of how to go about getting rid of Vista once you're "happy". Slight concern that all the links I found on Google are about how to restore Vista and get rid of Windows 7 and not the other way around. I'd like to get info on the boot manager and how to remove Vista from the list (resulting in an immediate boot to Windows 7 without the manager appearing.

3. Got to thinking--will this be called "Win7", "7" or will we actually spend the next several years saying "Windows 7"? Just using the number seems WAY too nondescript while "Win7" is three syllables and would be one of the longer nicknames as such. "XP", "Vista", "NT", "98", "95", "M.E."

4. Had to install my own touchpad Vista drivers (from Alps even though it's a Synaptics) as the scroll action wouldn't work otherwise. Had to also us Windows Update to get the Nvidia chipset going.

5. Couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get to an address bar in Media Player or to bring up any storefront in it. Lousy interface.

6. Only had one odd bug so far that I THINK might have been due to the Synaptics setup initially. It hasn't shown up since switching to Alps.

7. I can't find "Classic" as a choice for the Start menu any longer. I never adopted the new look so I'm trying to now. So far I still find it terrible.

8. I don't like the white tray icons (the little icons on the right side of the taskbar). 3rd-party icons (in color) look terrible next to them and being all white makes them look dead. I also don't like having an alert one up there ALL THE TIME even when there are no alerts. Windows uses this to let you know it needs your attention.

9. Hurray! A free Mahjong game. Saves me from having to go find a better one for now.

So far everything has run for me but I'm just getting started. I'm liking what I'm seeing so far and it seems like a good OS for a laptop. Boots, for now, pretty quickly and is fairly snappy in use. I'll keep this around a while.