How to Disagree

Here is a graph called the Pyramid of Disagrement:

A more in-depth analysis can be found here.

I found this at Accelerating Future.

Gotham Knights Art Direction

One thing I have always admired about Japanese media (in animation, at least) is their incredible art direction. This is no more demonstrated then in Gotham Knights, an American produced, Japanese made, animated film chronicling some of Batman’s night life.

Just look at these:

Phoenix Lands on Mars

I am happy to say that the new Mars probe, the Phoenix, has successfully landed on the Northern Planes of Mars. A unique feature of this probe is that it incorporates a digging element to its explorations (something only touched on in previous missions.) The Phoenix will attempt to explore several inches below the Martian service for further clues to its nature and past.

Read about it here.

What is Cinco de Mayo?

A common misconception is that Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican independence from Spain; it doesn’t. Independence from Spain is on the 16th of September, while Cinco de Mayo celebrates the victory of the battle of Pueblo.

Read about it here.

“The Battle of Puebla was not an isolated incident: there is a long and complicated history that led up to it. In 1857, the “Reform War” broke out in Mexico. It was a civil war and it pitted Liberals (who believed in separation of church and state and freedom of religion) against the Conservatives (who favored a tight bond between the Roman Catholic Church and the Mexican State.)”

Essentially, this reform war left Mexico bankrupt, and in debt to several countries; particularly France.

“This angered Great Britain, Spain and France, countries which were owed a great deal of money. The three nations agreed to work together to force Mexico to pay.”

“In December 1861 armed forces of the three nations arrived off the coast of Veracruz and landed a month later, in January 1862. Desperate last-minute diplomatic efforts by the Juarez administration persuaded Britain and Spain that a war that would further devastate the Mexican economy was in no one’s interest, and Spanish and British forces left with promise of future payment. France, however, was unconvinced and French forces remained on Mexican soil.”

To make a long story short, the French campaign into Mexico was unsuccessful; which eventually led to the celebration of Cinco de Mayo (if you prefer a slightly longer version of the story, follow the link above.)

Burn Notice: Review

The show is about Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), an American spy who doesn’t work for any one agency. At the beginning of the first episode, in the middle of an under-the-table payoff to a local Nigerian terrorist group, Michael learns that he has been “Burned”; which is the spy equivalent of being fired. Unfortunately, this comes up in the middle of a deal, and trouble ensues. To make a long story short, Michael ends up passed out in his hometown of Miami. [Previews Here and Here and Here]

To be “Burned” means that a spy is completely cut off from everything and everybody; no agency will talk to him, his financial resources are nonexistent, and his name is red-flagged (which prevents him from traveling.)

Naturally, the first thing Michael wants to do is to figure out why he was ‘burned’ in the first place. This is hard to do, since Michael has next to no resources at his disposal. Also, he quickly learns that he is under surveillance.

What he does have is a bitter gun-nut ex-girlfriend Fiona (whose accent disappears after episode 1, which was explained away with a single line); a retired spy buddy named Sam (played by the always entertaining Bruce Campbell); a small group of illicit contacts; and a nagging, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother. It is through his mother that he gets his first ‘job.’

To support himself, Michael becomes an unofficial private-investigator and problem solver. What’s fun abut this show is how Michael solves these problems (with the help of his two sidekicks, Sam and Fiona.) As Michael says (who also does the voice-over), “Guns make you stupid. Better to fight your wars with duct tape. Duck tape makes you smart", not that he doesn’t use guns when appropriate, he just prefers more creative solutions (think MacGyver.)

Weather its running out a local drug lord, saving a kidnapped family, uncovering a minor conspiracy, helping a kid deal with bullies, or making a bomb; Michael has a clever solution to everything (get a small taste of that here.) Michael employs psychological manipulation (“People are more likely to believe a piece of information if they have to work a little bit for it”), technical skills, fast-thinking, and good-old-fashion combat.

So, each episode there are two or more stories going on, Michael trying to find out why he was ‘burned’ (each episode the mystery deepens, he soon discovers it is about much more then just him), and a new ‘case’ for Michael to solve.

But I am not even mentioning the relationship between the characters; Fiona and Michael have a tense romance brewing, which works quite well, Sam is always enjoyable (as well as his relationship with Fiona), and the relationship between Michael and his mother is hilarious (a spy who can deal with third-world dictators, but has a hard time dealing with his own mother.) The chemistry in this show is great.

Michael’s narrative of the show also works well; he doesn’t explain the story as much as fills in some “spy-factoids”; such as “in the field, communicating silently is a must”, or "A good trap doesn't scare people, it makes them curious.” More then anything, Michael’s narrative helps pull the various elements of the show together.

There are some annoying aspects of this show; sometimes clunky dialogue, stylistic choices that felt thrown in (rap-music to shots of Miami), and I didn’t think the relationship between Michael and his loser brother worked very well.

Still, what makes this show fun is the sexy and lovable characters, the mystery, the action, and the comedy, and how the show pulls all of this together for a very enjoyable experience. But especially, it’s fun to see highly competent, and mostly moral characters fight a variety of bad guys.

While I don’t think ‘burn notice’ will win any Emmy’s, it’s a great summer show; which I am glad was picked up for a second season, if only to figure out what happens after the cliffhanger at the end of the first.

Nuttin But Stringz

Ever wonder how classical violin would sound if it was fused with Hip-Hop? So have I. Well now we don’t have to wonder, check this out (by the way, they prefer to call it pop classical):

Also check out these videos:

Meet the Brothers (not really a song)

Suka 4 Her

Man vs. Wild: Review

Bear Grylls served in the British Special Forces; at the time he climbed Everest, he broke the world record as the youngest ever to do so; he parasailed the same mountain (really, he had an oxygen tank and a special parasail); he is an avid rockclimber, mountaineer, and adventurer; needless to say, Bear Grylls is a pretty cool guy.

That’s why Man vs. Wild, a show dedicated to survival, tends to fixate on him; but this isn’t a bad thing. The show is only partly instructional; if person wants some real lessons in survival, they need more then just Man vs. Wild.

A review of the show is not complete without mentioning its scenery. Filmed in HD, this show has some great shots of the world’s most foreboding wildernesses; wide angle shots are fantastically directed (even if it takes always from the sincerity of the “survival” situation.) and Bear always needs to get into a place in an interesting way; weather it’s hangliding, parachuting, jumping out of a helicopter, or some other stunt; these scenes, while a bit contrived, are incredibly fun to watch.

There is a gross-out factor to this show, and the editors know it. Bear often has to find food, lacking options, like a fire, he must sometimes eat some disgusting things raw, which is shown in a little too much detail. But even this has a point; it does show what a person must go through in order to survive. Despair, I have heard, is the number one killer; keeping a positive, survivalist attitude is the most important factor.

It’s also worth noting that the show doesn’t shy away form some of the crueler aspects of life; Bear must sometimes hunt, and kill medium sized animals (sometimes cute ones); it shows the complete process, from capture to preparation to eating. For this the show has taken some heat from environmentalists (I believe there is a petition to get it off the air.) Bear Grylls clearly has a reverence for the beauty of nature, but he is not deluded as to what nature is; he’s no environmentalist (at least not by their standards.)

Bear Grylls also took some heat awhile ago for supposedly not being authentic; that he was actually much safer then he said he was. I tend to put such accusations under the same category as the people who where shocked to learn that Ashley Simpson was lip-synching. Of course it’s not completely real, the fact that he has a camera crew with him tells you something; the wide angle shots have to be planned, and I’m sure the crew is not scrounging for food like Bear. Still, Bear really jumps into crocodile and leech infested swamps, really boulders that steep rock-face, and really does all the things impossible to fake. There are also times when Bear is clearly nervous, like when a good sized shark was circling his small raft in the pacific.

This might sound cruel of me; but I enjoy watching this show from the safety of my own home; watching Bear Grylls have to ring water out of his own socks; or walk through is water; or futilely try to start a fire in the rainforest; makes me feel cozy.

People don’t seem to realize how big this world is, this is only occasionally demonstrated in the media; when a rich adventure’s plane went down, the largest single man-hunt in history couldn’t find him; and that was in America! This show gives a clear sense of the scale of our planet, and how little of it we actually occupy.

I like this show because it’s only star – Bear Grylls- is a clearly confident, competent, and strong individual. It also perfectly demonstrates, implicitly, the importance of technology in our lives, by showing what life is when a person is (mostly) detached from it.

The Chicago Spire

One bit of construction I am very exited about is America’s new skyscraper, the Chicago Spire. At over 150 floors tall, it will be the largest skyscraper in the U.S..

But it’s not just its size that makes it inspired, it’s the design; it is simple design, but eloquent and colorful; it will certainty provide strong contrast to Chicago’s now dominant Sears Tower.

Supposedly, the building is going to be almost 100 percent residential; in a city already known for its high-rise-apartments (unlike the New York, in which rent control and other policies have stunted the city’s height and quality) this building will fit right in. I also like the fact that it’s a completely private venture.

I expect, once completed, this building will become the symbol of the city: the same way the Space Needle is to Seattle; the Golden Gate Bridge to San Francisco; and how the trade towers used to be to New York.

I can’t wait for it to be finished.

Some Random Good News Snippets

Study says global warming not worsening hurricanes

Russian supply ship docks to space station

Da Vinci to be honored by small helicopter flight

China allows bloggers, others to spread quake news

Researchers teach 'Second Life' avatar to think

Cable companies to ramp up Web, HD, mobile service

Simon's Cat

These are just so gosh darn cute!



And this one:



OK, maybe you need to understand cats to really get the humor

Satoshi Kon Short

This is a short piece by Japanese animator Satoshi Kon; known for his unique -and many times bizarre- visuals:



Also look at the opining scene of his feature film, Paprika: Here. Same animation quality, though you won’t understand what’s going on if you haven’t seen the film.

Wall-E's Real!

Wall-E Spotted in LA! from Blink on Vimeo.

Return of Jet-Man

Awhile ago I posted about Jet Man; well, I’m glad to say that he’s still flying, but he now goes by the name of “FusionMan."

“Swiss professional pilot Yves Rossy, the world's first man to fly with fitted jet fuel powered wings strapped to his back, flies during his first official demonstration above Bex over the Swiss Alps on Wednesday. Rossy, who calls himself 'FusionMan,' was realeased from a plane at an altitude of 8,000 feet, before he completed several loops.”

On Burma

This makes me unbelievably mad:

Burma Killed by Tyranny

I don’t know what’s worse, those who try to exploit Burma for their own gain; the leadership and oppressive statism that led to so many being hurt and killed, or the Americans who fail to recognize the blatantly obvious: that free nations never experience such loss of life from natural disasters.

Like Making? Watch Iron Man.

Sure, Iron Man is sometimes at odds with Newtonian physics, but any Maker can still enjoy watching Tony Stark put together the Mach 1:

Fake Making is a time-tested, enjoyable movie experience; I cite the treehouse form Earnest Scared Stupid, the Plane in Radio Flyer, the other Plane in The Flight of the Phoenix, the even better Treehouse in The Swiss Family Robinson; and dozens of others.

There are some very good engineers in the movie world (though they do cheat, being fictional and all.)