Broadband Disconnectivity Anxiety Disorder

Thursday, May 08, 2008   —   Vienna 0 Comments

I'm sitting in front of my computer in cold sweat and slightly shivering from relief... I woke up this morning to find that my hosting service was down, — leaving me without access to any of my websites and projects!   more »

Excuse for coffee

Sunday, April 27, 2008   —   Vienna 0 Comments

Thought I'd drop a line to the 2 people who actually read this blog (hi mum, hi dad). I've been coding all day. It's sunny outside, which is a good excuse for coffee... Off for a coffee break.

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Missing TWIT

Saturday, April 12, 2008   —   Vienna 0 Comments

This Week in Tech I guess I never realized I was such a fan, but I have to say I'm kind of missing TWIT. The guy is off Down Under taking photos or something. So I'm left feeling like the guy who comes all dressed-up to the party only to remember that it was cancelled. Don't ask how I know what that feels like.
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Anthony Minghella dies

Wednesday, March 19, 2008   —   Vienna 0 Comments

I was really sad to hear of Anthony Minghella passing yesterday. He was a great director.

Anthony Minghella

I think it was in early 2004 that I met him while he was on a promotional tour for Cold Mountain. He signed one of my photographs after giving a talk. I remember when I showed him my pictures, he graciously small-talked about photography. Being starstruck, I babbled something incoherent...   more »

Battlestar Galactica (TV Series)

Sunday, March 02, 2008   —   Vienna 0 Comments

  • Director: Michael Rymer
  • Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff
  • Genre: Sci-Fi
  • IMDb Rating: 9.1/10
  • My Rating: A
  • Links: IMDb, Wikipedia
  • Trailer: Season 4

The premise couldn't be more cliched: an apocalyptic nuclear war, a forlorn space fleet, a band of survivors in search of Earth, a race of genocidal androids on their pursuit. Yet Battlestar Galactica is hands down one of the best shows on TV!

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The app should be more efficient than the sum of its parts

Wednesday, November 14, 2007   —   Vienna 0 Comments

I'm in the process of reshaping and streamlining the backend of Wimbomedia, and wishing I had paid more mind to the cautionary voice in my head urging me to plan more and code less when I was building the site.

As the Wimbomedia grows, I've identified some potential issues with scaling the information-heavy database. It's proving a little cumbersome changing the way the system works because it's already so loaded with data.


It's amazing what you can learn between launching a site and it being pickup by a Google bot. Well, you live, you code, and you learn stuff you wish you knew before...   more »

Serenity (2005)

Saturday, November 03, 2007   —   Vienna 0 Comments

  • Director: Joss Whedon
  • Starring: Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gina Torres
  • Genre:Sci-Fi, Action Adventure
  • RT Rating: 8/10
  • My Rating: B+
  • Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia
  • Trailer: Apple

I'm going to have to go get the Firefly series after watching this. This movie is so much fun, and the characters are great! You can't get enough of these gun-touting mavericks.

Synopsis from www.rottentomatoes.com
A mix of space western, comedy, and drama, SERENITY follows captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his ragtag crew as they trade their way around the edges of civilized society. Of particular interest are two passengers they take on, Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher, Summer Glau), a brother and his telepathic sister on the run from the corrupt governing Alliance. As notorious former members of the anti-Alliance opposition, Mal and his crew make it difficult for Simon and River to stay hidden. Everything goes completely awry when a government assassin is sent to retrieve River.

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The Madison dance and the Pulp Fiction twist

Wednesday, October 10, 2007   —   Vienna 0 Comments

Two awesome movie scenes that spawned an awful lot of regretful wedding videos. People should just not attempt these in the vicinity of a camera.

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Bande à part (Band of Outsiders) (1964)

Monday, October 01, 2007   —   Vienna 0 Comments

  • Director: Jean-Luc Godard
  • Starring: Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur
  • Genre: Foreign Films
  • RT Rating: 95%
  • My Rating: A
  • Links: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia
  • Trailer: YouTube

Three years of Media Studies has made me hate the word "Postmodern", so I prefere to think of Jean-Luc Godard's film as a great example of French New Wave – which it is.

Synopsis from www.criterion.com
Two restless young men (Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur) enlist the object of their desire (Anna Karina) to help them commit a robbery––in her own home. French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Godard takes to the streets of Paris to re-imagine the gangster genre, spinning an audacious yarn that’s at once sentimental and insouciant, romantic and melancholy.

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China Town, London

Saturday, December 30, 2006   —   London 0 Comments

Andy and I went to the Natural History Museum. He was quite proud of the British's achievement at archiving all this stuff and I could see why. The place was packed with every sort of monster-like creature that at some point walked the face of the Earth. This was my last day in London (for real this time!) I so I wanted to bid the city a proper adieu.


Looking to kill time and find something interesting to take back home in the way of stories, I decided to get lost on purpose. I needn't have tried very hard, London is an inconsistent mesh of brick, glass, and cobblestone.   more »

Missed my flight!

Thursday, December 28, 2006   —   London 0 Comments

Right now, I'm supposed to be somewhere over the North Sea en route to Vienna. Instead I'm back at my friend’s house writing this on his computer because I missed my flight! I stood at the check-in desk, with my bags and ticket in hand, blinking like an idiot as the check-in lady informed me that I was more of an idiot than I thought if I reckoned I could board a flight 30 minutes before departure.   more »

British Interactive Media Association Awards Dinner

Wednesday, December 27, 2006   —   London 0 Comments

It's raining buckets outside, which isn't at all unusual, this being England and all. I'm in London for the British Interactive Media Association Awards because my game, The Dark Gloriole was nominated. I was all "chuffed" as the Brits would say.


The rain never seems to damper my British friends. Having given up on umbrellas all together, they just hang their heads, hunch their shoulders and march to the pub to drown themselves there before the rain does. I, on the other hand haven't grown the gills for it yet. Some I'm tucked indoors, writing this on my friend’s computer while he's at the pub watching an Arsenal match. Judging from how they appear to be having it handed to them on TV, I can't imagine theirs much cheering in his camp.   more »

London

Tuesday, December 26, 2006   —   London 0 Comments

London is an interesting place, stating the least. If you've got a mind to look, London will show you some pretty interesting things. I've found the strangest possibilities here!

Just near to where I am staying is a whacky antiques shop run by a chatty owner who seems more enthusiastic then knowledgeable about his wares. From what my friend Elliott tells me, his business model is simple: defy odds, thereby stay in business.


One of the best parts of my trip has been digging through musky shelves in second-hand book-stores lined with dog-eared classic paperbacks, and quirky titles like "The Corinthian". I find this a great way to wait out the rain, if you're not in a hurry.   more »