This is a great battery pack if you don’t have a USB C device. It comes with two cables built in, one for micro-USB and lightning for iOS devices (and can simultaneously charge both), has a USB port for another device, and even a built in LED flashlight (which is very useful). I find a very handy gadget for day to day use and very food for traveling (via the Wirecutter).
Stuff I Use: Pocketmonkey
I’m surprised there are a couple of these card shaped, omni tools out there; basically, they pack a few tools in one card. They’re kind of like swiss army knives, minus the knife. The one I use is called the Pocketmonkey. I keep it in my wallet for the occasional screw driving and measuring, but I’ll admit the bottle opener is what I primarily use it for.
Stuff I Use: Bluapple Produce Saver
I found the Bluapple Produce Saver after looking for a way to preserve produce longer than usual. I tested this out with my neighbor and he noticed great results with this and decided he wanted his own as well as it did help save a lot of the groceries he was buying.
I talk a little about Watchmen on NBC 4 LA
I was on the NBC 4 Los Angeles local news talking a little bit about the Watchmen film, which was pretty good, and got to show off my tickets over at Universal City Walk. I don’t know much about the original book, but it is considered the greatest graphic novel of all time. The characters look amazing and it seems like they captured all of the best parts of the novel. That being said, some scenes go on and are often overly violent. Still, even if you aren’t a fan of superhero movies, this is still a film to see.
Thanks for the free copy of Blogging Tips, Lorelle
Lorelle on WordPress, who gave the Kicking Ass Content Connections talk at Wordcamp, sent out a free copy of her book Blogging Tips: What bloggers won’t tell you about blogging to conference attendees. I got my copy this past weekend and of course I’ve been reading it for the past few days. I’ve been looking for a simple book that described the basics of blogging to present to others, as well as give me some ideas on how to improve my blog (got to find the right header images, among other things). However, while I know this book was meant to be general in terms of blogging (and thereby make it more for novices and help it stand up for the future), I couldn’t help but wonder if there couldn’t be more specific tips like plugins for WordPress, Movable Type, or Firefox to make some of the recommended things like XML sitemaps. The general approach works, though, and therefore makes Blogging Tips a recommendable tome for the would-be-blogger.
Superman Returns
In Superman Returns, Bryan Singer tried very hard to recreate much of the classic look and feel of the earlier Superman movies. Singer succeeds quite well in doing this right from the opening credits. His casting of Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel was surely meant to remind people of the late Christopher Reeve in his look and mannerisms (he even kind of sounds like him too). The movie started off quite well in my opinion, with great effects and a great exploration of the characters in the Superman universe (with of course the cameos of some of the older stars of the Adventures of Superman). That and Kevin Spacey’s diabolical Lex Luthor proves to be quite the challenge for our hero. However, the film starts dropping off in quality near the end. The end seems to leave open too many questions for the sequel and reduce the movie to some unnecessarily sappy moments. So while Superman Returns wasn’t exactly a new interpretation of DC Comics’s flagship character, that maybe a good thing.
Wordplay
When I first heard about the movie Wordplay, I thought it was about the New York Times Crossword puzzle itself and the people who solve it (the regular people and the famous like Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, and Bill Clinton to name a few). Don’t get me wrong, while the film is about the puzzle (how it’s constructed and by whom), it’s mainly the story of the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and the puzzle fanatics who enter the contest. It is something not too many people know about, but really, I was hoping they would make the movie more about the puzzle.
Arrested Development Season 2
It’s hard for me to say which seasons of Arrested Development are my favorite, as there were only 3 of them (see also some thoughts on Season 3). However, I do have a soft spot for Season 2, as it is probably the season that got me into the show in the first place. Season 2 had established even more of the recurring jokes, such as the family chicken dances. It had some great guest stars-Ben Stiller, Dan Castellaneta, and the returning Julia Louis Dreyfus- to mix with the cast and the recurring guest stars such as Henry Winkler and Judy Greer. It’s one wacky show that was only too short.
Like my previous post on Season 3, I’ll be picking one great quote from each episode (thanks to the OP fansite for the quotes)
Continue reading “Arrested Development Season 2”
Thank You for Smoking
An incredibly funny movie about the art of political spin and government, this movie presents a great story from a sort of libertarian (but probably closer to liberal) point of view. Thank You For Smoking takes on just about everything big from lobbyists, politicians, and of course Hollywood. It is dark, immensely funny and will probably be watched over and over for its presentation of today’s political climate.
An Inconvenient Truth
I finally got a chance to this movie and all I can say is wow. It’s been said this movie will terrify you, and it will. It puts together so much information on global warming. After seeing this movie, I feel as though I am more equipped to talk about global warming. Al Gore’s presentation is terrific; as others have described, he is funny, passionate, and not how he was seemingly portrayed in the 2000 election. I went with my friend to this movie, a global warming skeptic. While it did not make him as passionate about global warming as Gore, it did convince him that global warming is real and is a problem. That makes it all the more easier to see the power of An Inconvenient Truth and to recommend it.
Take your friends to see it, especially the skeptics. You can even get help paying for tickets or if you want to donate for others to see this movie, check out Sharethetruth.us (via Lessig).