Andrew Sullivan links to this compilation of Steadicam shots.
Yes, the Steadicam's invention in 1976 revolutionized cinema forever. But there is a little-known fact about Garrett Brown, the genius inventor of the Steadicam... and no, it's not that he also invented the Skycam, an aerial camera rig that produces swooping shots, mainly for sports events.
Garrett Brown is also a remarkable voice talent. With his wife, Anne Winn, he has recorded some very funny radio commercials, nearly always in the genre of romantic comedy. Take a listen at their site. Start with the Amex or the Molson commercials.
Showing posts with label Film and TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film and TV. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Beowulf... Why?
Robert Zemeckis, a very talented filmmaker, is back this season exploring the highly unpromising vein he started mining with The Polar Express. Beowulf is a loose retelling of the Old English epic poem. Like Final Fantasy, these Zemeckis films are photoreal depictions of human characters. The innovation that Zemeckis has clamped onto is procedural; rather than animating from scratch, he records actors’ performances, this go-around with a new motion capture technique that photographs them from multiple angles. I saw the rig he uses for this at the SIGGRAPH convention this summer; it looks like a geodesic dome fitted with dozens of lights and cameras.
Despite my misgivings about motion capture, I came to the film wanting it to succeed. I saw it on the first weekend, and in IMAX 3D. Unfortunately, I have to report that the film was an almost complete failure. Only two scenes really worked: Angelina Jolie’s seduction of the hero, and the final action set piece. For the most part it was a flat, frigid bore.
The question I was left with was… why? If this film had been made in live action with CGI assistance, it still would not have been a good film, but it would have been a better film. I know what Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich can give a story. What motion capture got out of them was barely 10% of what they can do even when they’re having a bad day.
What went wrong? First, the motion capture doesn’t look that bad. When it’s bad, motion capture looks… dirty. There’s more detail there than needs to be there. Zemeckis has obviously had animators edit the motion extensively. The trouble is not the usual one of too much extraneous detail, but not enough. There’s no intimacy to the performances.
When humans look photo-real we expect photo-real expression. The human face is a highly complex interweaving of dozens of muscles. Moreover, we are extraordinarily adept at reading it; our species has evolved into master interpreters of our own faces. Small subtleties carry enormous meaning. The fault might not be with the motion capture alone, but the character rigs too. 3D technology has advanced enormously, but it still cannot quite simulate all the details of facial movement, at least not when the benchmark is human complexity.
Perhaps it is also the circumstances in which the motion was captured. An actor is far likelier to create a compelling performance on a set, with the actors he’s playing against right there in front of him. A geodesic dome is not quite the same spark to the imagination.
Finally, there is the issue of what 3D folk call the “Uncanny Valley”. This term was coined by MIT researchers on robotics. They were trying to come up with a robot design that would provoke emotional attachment. They found that the more like humans the robots got, the more warmly people responded to them. This perhaps was not surprising. What was more surprising was that there came a point when this effect started diminishing and reversing. People started getting a little freaked out by the human likeness. When the design started becoming completely convincing – like say, Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner – identification and attachment returned. This effect was dubbed the uncanny valley. People in 3D argue about whether it really exists. As one who has fallen in myself (in a mixed media project,) I can testify that it does exist. Does Beowulf fall into the uncanny valley? Well, it’s clawing up the far side, but it’s there.
I go back to the most pertinent question: why? Why bother recreating reality in mathematically defined polygons, when real reality is right here with us? I know the answer in my bones because I’ve made films both in 3D and live action. A live action shoot is terribly frustrating for control freaks like me… and presumably, Zemeckis. A plane flying overhead ruins your best take. The damn cameraman muffles the follow on another good take. The actor scratches his nose for no apparent reason, ruining yet another one. And if you say you’re satisfied with the shot, at 1AM in the morning, when you’ve been up and working your ass off since 6AM, then you will have to live with that for the rest of your life. You rarely get retake days. The 3D world, on the other hand, is infinitely malleable. You can tweak the camera angle or the hue of the hero’s plaid jacket till the cows come home. Yes, there are time constraints because budgets are never infinite but things can be… adjusted. Always adjusted.
The truth, however, is that this kind of stuff doesn’t really matter all that much. Filmmakers can obsess about things intricate like camera movements or subtle pictorial elements, but that’s just the icing on the cake. What matters is story and performances. To sacrifice performance for the flexibility to execute the filmmaking flourishes is terribly, terribly wrong-headed. And I just can’t imagine what other upside there is in a technique such as this.
I believe 3D animation does not need to be confined to family audiences. It can appeal to older, narrower audiences. But I also think animation needs to be allowed to be animation. Let it do what it does best: provide an imaginative restyling of life movement and life imagery.
Despite my misgivings about motion capture, I came to the film wanting it to succeed. I saw it on the first weekend, and in IMAX 3D. Unfortunately, I have to report that the film was an almost complete failure. Only two scenes really worked: Angelina Jolie’s seduction of the hero, and the final action set piece. For the most part it was a flat, frigid bore.
The question I was left with was… why? If this film had been made in live action with CGI assistance, it still would not have been a good film, but it would have been a better film. I know what Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich can give a story. What motion capture got out of them was barely 10% of what they can do even when they’re having a bad day.
What went wrong? First, the motion capture doesn’t look that bad. When it’s bad, motion capture looks… dirty. There’s more detail there than needs to be there. Zemeckis has obviously had animators edit the motion extensively. The trouble is not the usual one of too much extraneous detail, but not enough. There’s no intimacy to the performances.
When humans look photo-real we expect photo-real expression. The human face is a highly complex interweaving of dozens of muscles. Moreover, we are extraordinarily adept at reading it; our species has evolved into master interpreters of our own faces. Small subtleties carry enormous meaning. The fault might not be with the motion capture alone, but the character rigs too. 3D technology has advanced enormously, but it still cannot quite simulate all the details of facial movement, at least not when the benchmark is human complexity.
Perhaps it is also the circumstances in which the motion was captured. An actor is far likelier to create a compelling performance on a set, with the actors he’s playing against right there in front of him. A geodesic dome is not quite the same spark to the imagination.
Finally, there is the issue of what 3D folk call the “Uncanny Valley”. This term was coined by MIT researchers on robotics. They were trying to come up with a robot design that would provoke emotional attachment. They found that the more like humans the robots got, the more warmly people responded to them. This perhaps was not surprising. What was more surprising was that there came a point when this effect started diminishing and reversing. People started getting a little freaked out by the human likeness. When the design started becoming completely convincing – like say, Rutger Hauer in Bladerunner – identification and attachment returned. This effect was dubbed the uncanny valley. People in 3D argue about whether it really exists. As one who has fallen in myself (in a mixed media project,) I can testify that it does exist. Does Beowulf fall into the uncanny valley? Well, it’s clawing up the far side, but it’s there.
I go back to the most pertinent question: why? Why bother recreating reality in mathematically defined polygons, when real reality is right here with us? I know the answer in my bones because I’ve made films both in 3D and live action. A live action shoot is terribly frustrating for control freaks like me… and presumably, Zemeckis. A plane flying overhead ruins your best take. The damn cameraman muffles the follow on another good take. The actor scratches his nose for no apparent reason, ruining yet another one. And if you say you’re satisfied with the shot, at 1AM in the morning, when you’ve been up and working your ass off since 6AM, then you will have to live with that for the rest of your life. You rarely get retake days. The 3D world, on the other hand, is infinitely malleable. You can tweak the camera angle or the hue of the hero’s plaid jacket till the cows come home. Yes, there are time constraints because budgets are never infinite but things can be… adjusted. Always adjusted.
The truth, however, is that this kind of stuff doesn’t really matter all that much. Filmmakers can obsess about things intricate like camera movements or subtle pictorial elements, but that’s just the icing on the cake. What matters is story and performances. To sacrifice performance for the flexibility to execute the filmmaking flourishes is terribly, terribly wrong-headed. And I just can’t imagine what other upside there is in a technique such as this.
I believe 3D animation does not need to be confined to family audiences. It can appeal to older, narrower audiences. But I also think animation needs to be allowed to be animation. Let it do what it does best: provide an imaginative restyling of life movement and life imagery.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Psycho Killer... Qu'est Que C'est?
I just finished seeing season one of Dexter, the Showtime dramatic series.
Some people don't like Dexter because they watch it as if it were a police procedural and complain about its implausibility. It's really not that -- Dexter is a superhero narrative. The hero had a formative experience in his childhood that resulted in a secret identity. This identity gave him great powers, but it also placed a great burden on him. It set him apart from a world to which he brought a mighty boon. This is the same story as Superman, Spiderman, Daredevil.
Dexter is the Superhero as Serial Killer... a really great twist on an American narrative form.
And by the way, is it just me or does Showtime seem to be overtaking HBO on the heat scale?
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Seven-Year Twitch
49 Up is the latest in a series of documentaries, most directed by Michael Apted, which chronicle the lives of a number of Britons at seven-year intervals, starting when they were seven years old.
Those of you who haven't seen the series definitely should -- they are worthy films. However, I am struck at how much darker the movies are getting. 7 Up was meant to be an exploration of class issues. By the time they got to 28 Up, the films had turned into a meditation on the eddies and flows of life and fate; one could celebrate the victories and grieve the failures of the protagonists. But by now, the movie seems like a mass performance of Krapp's Last Tape. Even the happy, well-adjusted subjects seemed tortured by the documentary process. It's become quite apparent: confronting middle-aged people with the dreams of their youth is an exquisite form of sadism.
Those of you who haven't seen the series definitely should -- they are worthy films. However, I am struck at how much darker the movies are getting. 7 Up was meant to be an exploration of class issues. By the time they got to 28 Up, the films had turned into a meditation on the eddies and flows of life and fate; one could celebrate the victories and grieve the failures of the protagonists. But by now, the movie seems like a mass performance of Krapp's Last Tape. Even the happy, well-adjusted subjects seemed tortured by the documentary process. It's become quite apparent: confronting middle-aged people with the dreams of their youth is an exquisite form of sadism.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Inhale and Hold
Many of you might already be enjoying the third season of Weeds; since I don't have Showtime, I am just now catching up with the second season on DVD. May I just marvel at this show for a minute? Mary-Louise Parker is a miracle of nature and the rest of the cast is fine too... especially Kevin Nealon, who squeezes out the comic relief generously. I love how they've started to get a different cover for the theme song every episode. And most importantly, the writing is some of the best on television.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Flight of the Mule
I rented Maria Full of Grace recently. When I really like a film in the theatres, often I'll rent it when it comes out on DVD. It's interesting to see whether the movie holds up to a second viewing.Maria Full of Grace does. It's the story of a feisty Colombian village girl who is recruited to become a drug mule. We see the circumstances that lead to her decision, how she has to swallow dozens of small packages of cocaine and keep them in her stomach for the length of a plane ride, and how she skirts past customs in New York. The story plays like a taut thriller. Sure, the plot skids a bit in the third act, but it never comes off the road, and the performances are excellent, especially Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria.
For me, the story has resonance. It feels like a metaphor for the experience of a whole class of illegal Latino immigrants in the U.S.
Anyhow, it's a good flick. Catch it if you haven't already.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Great Expectorations
Drudge reports that Katie Couric literally slapped around an editor when he slipped the word "sputum" into her text.
Long ago I worked at NBC News. Usually I was behind the scenes -- way behind the scenes -- but I remember a rare instance when I had to go to the studio where they shoot the Nightly News. Tom Brokaw was there in a corner, reading his text out loud to himself before the broadcast, rehearsing different emphases and intonations. I would suggest that if Ms. Couric takes her job seriously, which after all is nothing more than reading a script, she should at least read the thing beforehand.
Long ago I worked at NBC News. Usually I was behind the scenes -- way behind the scenes -- but I remember a rare instance when I had to go to the studio where they shoot the Nightly News. Tom Brokaw was there in a corner, reading his text out loud to himself before the broadcast, rehearsing different emphases and intonations. I would suggest that if Ms. Couric takes her job seriously, which after all is nothing more than reading a script, she should at least read the thing beforehand.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Reading to the Right, Shooting to the Left
The way we read text influences the way our eyes scan an image. We usually start at the top left, then go to the top right, then the lower left quadrant and finally the lower right. However, it's wrong to oversimplify what this means -- other factors influence what the eye sees first: compositional elements, bright spots, and the human form can draw the eye no matter where they are located.
Moreover, location affects how we read motion and intention; it doesn't necessarily connote importance. Look at Venus and Adonis by Rubens. The top image is the original one, the bottom one is the flipped image. Notice how Venus and the putto are more effective in the top image: the fact that they're pulling in the same direction we're reading gives their efforts more strength. In the bottom image, Adonis is going in the direction we're reading, and he seems a lot more determined and likely to succeed in tearing himself away because of it. The sky and the pastoral patch on the right feels like a more enticing destination.
Usually, when the masters have painted firing lines they've put the victim on the left and the shooters on the right. Below is Goya's Third of May and Manet's Execution of Maximilian (click to enlarge.) The original images are on the left, the flipped images are on the right.
The firing squads seem stronger when they are flipped onto the left, but the paintings have less tension. The victims seem more hapless when they are on the right, but also less noble and less consequential. Talk shows almost always have the host on the right. Flipping an image of Tim Russert with Peter Pace, you can see why. The setting seems less fair and less congenial.
Moreover, location affects how we read motion and intention; it doesn't necessarily connote importance. Look at Venus and Adonis by Rubens. The top image is the original one, the bottom one is the flipped image. Notice how Venus and the putto are more effective in the top image: the fact that they're pulling in the same direction we're reading gives their efforts more strength. In the bottom image, Adonis is going in the direction we're reading, and he seems a lot more determined and likely to succeed in tearing himself away because of it. The sky and the pastoral patch on the right feels like a more enticing destination.
Usually, when the masters have painted firing lines they've put the victim on the left and the shooters on the right. Below is Goya's Third of May and Manet's Execution of Maximilian (click to enlarge.) The original images are on the left, the flipped images are on the right.
The firing squads seem stronger when they are flipped onto the left, but the paintings have less tension. The victims seem more hapless when they are on the right, but also less noble and less consequential. Talk shows almost always have the host on the right. Flipping an image of Tim Russert with Peter Pace, you can see why. The setting seems less fair and less congenial.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Good Eats, Good Show
Lately I've become hooked on Good Eats With Alton Brown on the Food Network. It's not the usual cooking show with a Chef hamming it up in front of a salivating studio audience -- it's more like a wacked-out food documentary. Alton Brown doesn't just tell you the what of cooking, he tells you the how and why and the pronunciation and folklore and science and the competing theories... and on and on. It's like a TV version of Harold McGee's classic On Food and Cooking, which believe me, is high praise.
I'm definitely a foodie, so maybe I'm biased -- but I can't think of a show on TV that is simultaneously as educational and entertaining. (And since I'm on a food tear, check out how Pixar got the kitchen stuff right in Ratatouille.)
I'm definitely a foodie, so maybe I'm biased -- but I can't think of a show on TV that is simultaneously as educational and entertaining. (And since I'm on a food tear, check out how Pixar got the kitchen stuff right in Ratatouille.)
Monday, June 11, 2007
The End of the Sopranos
The Sopranos series finale was the most disappointing end to a major series since Seinfeld sputtered to a final stop. Despite its promising start, the final season flirted with many storylines... but failed to commit to any. Like a precocious teenager, the show seemed scared of not looking cool. It didn't want to seem like it was trying to work, so finally it didn't.
Still, The Sopranos was a landmark show. The best episode of all might still be that first show, where a Mafia boss with a troubled home life is visited by some ducks.
Still, The Sopranos was a landmark show. The best episode of all might still be that first show, where a Mafia boss with a troubled home life is visited by some ducks.
Monday, April 9, 2007
The Sopranos Back in Form
Last night's season opener was one of the best episodes of the series. I know this sounds pretentious, but there was something Chekhovian about it: the lingering melancholy and hidden resentments, the telling details, all of that crippling nostalgia for a life gone by.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
A Re-run Freeze?
The Washington Post hits the entertainment angle of Fred Thompson's possible run for the White House:
Election law requires that TV stations give all candidates equal time. Experts said Thompson -- like the last movie-star candidate, Ronald Reagan -- would probably vanish from the airwaves except in news programming. That would probably mean that he would leave "Law & Order" and that networks would not air his reruns during the campaign.
Granted, there are so many Law and Order episodes other than Thompson's 109, it's not like Dick Wolf is going to be hurting for money.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Homelands
I just saw Talk to Her once more, which as I've written before is one of my favorite films. It reminded me of something Penelope Cruz mentioned in a recent interview. She said Pedro Almodovar had met his idol (and mine too) Billy Wilder before he died. Wilder had given him a piece of advice: don't come to Hollywood -- stay in Spain. It was a wise tip. Almodovar could not have molded his masterpieces out of the clay of a foreign culture. At the same time, it was poignant counsel. Wilder was an Austrian-born jew whose family died in the holocaust. He didn't have the option of staying in his own land. Despite overcoming his languague difficulties and becoming one of Hollywood's greatest dramatists, perhaps a small part of Billy Wilder wondered wistfully what his career might have been like in a Europe without Hitler.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Waddya hear? Waddya say?
After Martin Scorsese mentioned Angels With Dirty Faces in his Oscar acceptance speech I got the hankering to see it again. It holds up. There's a couple of spots where the action is a little confused, but Cagney is priceless and the staging and pacing is generally excellent. Which gets me to wondering... why is Michael Curtiz so underrated as a director? He's made some of the best loved films of the last century: most notably Casablanca, but also We're No Angels, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Captain Blood, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Mildred Pierce. He made 172 films in a career that spanned fifty years, yet he doesn't get the respect of another studio all-rounder like Howard Hawks, for instance. I blame Andrew Sarris.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
SuperBowl Ads
The New York Times website has a great multimedia feature on SuperBowl ads. You'll be able to look back at some of the best ads for every year since 1984.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Best Films of the Millenium (So Far)
Why? Because it’s never too early to make a pointless list of some of your favorite movies.
1. Mulholland Drive
Like all of Lynch’s films, Mulholland Drive is rich, beautiful and atmospheric. What makes this movie his best is a rigorous and stunningly innovative structure. Instead of a linear narrative, this movie is shaped like an infinity symbol. It curves around, goes through a small hole and comes out the other side into a mirror-image world. And hey, a really hot lesbian scene doesn’t hurt either.
2. Talk to Her
As he often does, Almodovar takes some rather outrageous behavior and turns it into a parable of the human heart. His control over the filmmaking elements is total. Like Mulholland Drive, this is the greatest work of a true master.
3. Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe’s movie speaks of his experiences as a rock critic prodigy for Rolling Stone. His love of the music world is palpable. The performances he gets from his cast are luminous.
4. School of Rock
Like Big was to the 80s and Groundhog Day was to the 90s, this is the great concept comedy of this decade. Jack Black is great fun and brings home a winning message about the rewards of mentorship.
5. Before Night Falls
Javier Bardem is brilliant as Reinaldo Arenas in Julian Schnabel’s moving true-to-life story of a gay writer in Castro’s Cuba.
6. Monsters, Inc.
I’m an animator, and you have to give the greatest animation studio in the world its props. (I could just as easily put Finding Nemo here too.) What makes Pixar better than the other 3D studios is not technique, although theirs is as good as any. It is that they tell perfectly crafted stories of humanistic import.
7. The Departed
Scorsese returns to his favorite turf and his best form. What an ensemble!
8. Sideways
There were intelligent character comedies with fewer flaws around – Little Miss Sunshine for one – but none had as much heart as this ruthless but compassionate view of one of life’s losers.
9. Spellbound
You have to have a documentary on the list, and no other doc was as charming or thought-provoking as this one.
10. Lost in Translation
A beautiful, minimalist tale (so I’ll make my blurb minimalist too.)
Honorable mention: 28 Days Later, About A Boy, Amelie, Cast Away, Chicken Run, Cinderella Man, The Dreamers, Finding Nemo, High Fidelity, Little Miss Sunshine, Maria Full of Grace, Minority Report, Punch-Drunk Love, Sexy Beast, Spanglish, Spirited Away, The Fast Runner, Y Tu Mama Tambien, You Can Count on Me.
1. Mulholland Drive
Like all of Lynch’s films, Mulholland Drive is rich, beautiful and atmospheric. What makes this movie his best is a rigorous and stunningly innovative structure. Instead of a linear narrative, this movie is shaped like an infinity symbol. It curves around, goes through a small hole and comes out the other side into a mirror-image world. And hey, a really hot lesbian scene doesn’t hurt either.
2. Talk to Her
As he often does, Almodovar takes some rather outrageous behavior and turns it into a parable of the human heart. His control over the filmmaking elements is total. Like Mulholland Drive, this is the greatest work of a true master.
3. Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe’s movie speaks of his experiences as a rock critic prodigy for Rolling Stone. His love of the music world is palpable. The performances he gets from his cast are luminous.
4. School of Rock
Like Big was to the 80s and Groundhog Day was to the 90s, this is the great concept comedy of this decade. Jack Black is great fun and brings home a winning message about the rewards of mentorship.
5. Before Night Falls
Javier Bardem is brilliant as Reinaldo Arenas in Julian Schnabel’s moving true-to-life story of a gay writer in Castro’s Cuba.
6. Monsters, Inc.
I’m an animator, and you have to give the greatest animation studio in the world its props. (I could just as easily put Finding Nemo here too.) What makes Pixar better than the other 3D studios is not technique, although theirs is as good as any. It is that they tell perfectly crafted stories of humanistic import.
7. The Departed
Scorsese returns to his favorite turf and his best form. What an ensemble!
8. Sideways
There were intelligent character comedies with fewer flaws around – Little Miss Sunshine for one – but none had as much heart as this ruthless but compassionate view of one of life’s losers.
9. Spellbound
You have to have a documentary on the list, and no other doc was as charming or thought-provoking as this one.
10. Lost in Translation
A beautiful, minimalist tale (so I’ll make my blurb minimalist too.)
Honorable mention: 28 Days Later, About A Boy, Amelie, Cast Away, Chicken Run, Cinderella Man, The Dreamers, Finding Nemo, High Fidelity, Little Miss Sunshine, Maria Full of Grace, Minority Report, Punch-Drunk Love, Sexy Beast, Spanglish, Spirited Away, The Fast Runner, Y Tu Mama Tambien, You Can Count on Me.
Friday, January 26, 2007
The Prodigal Litigant
The Los Angeles Times tells of a 10-year-old suing for creative control of a film. "She wanted to make all the decisions and stuff," budding filmmaker Dominic Kay says. It's a cruel world.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Dr. Burke Checks In
I had no idea there was such a thing as an in-patient homophobe rehabilitation program.
Usually, when a celeb screws up (Mel Gibson, Mark Foley, Lindsey Lohan, Miss USA) they pretend it was due to drugs or booze and check into rehab. Admirably, Isaiah Washington has at least dispensed with that part of the charade. But of course, if this becomes the norm then the boon to psychiatric facilities could be impressive. Why not have in-patient facilities for bad driving (Billy Joel) or lip-syncing (Ashlee Simpson) or for just making bad movies (Rob Schneider)?
Usually, when a celeb screws up (Mel Gibson, Mark Foley, Lindsey Lohan, Miss USA) they pretend it was due to drugs or booze and check into rehab. Admirably, Isaiah Washington has at least dispensed with that part of the charade. But of course, if this becomes the norm then the boon to psychiatric facilities could be impressive. Why not have in-patient facilities for bad driving (Billy Joel) or lip-syncing (Ashlee Simpson) or for just making bad movies (Rob Schneider)?
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Locket from The Illusionist
I just finished seeing The Illusionist. Not a bad movie, but I must admit I got distracted there for a while trying to figure out if it would be possible to build the locket that appears in the picture. Here's the clip:
After fooling around with pen and paper, I'm convinced it would be possible, and there seems to be something similar here. So, the locket... possible. The photo sitting there in the middle... that, not so much.
UPDATE: Here some other posts on this subject:
More on That Locket
How to Build the Locket from The Illusionist, pt 1
How to Build the Locket from The Illusionist, pt. 2
After fooling around with pen and paper, I'm convinced it would be possible, and there seems to be something similar here. So, the locket... possible. The photo sitting there in the middle... that, not so much.
UPDATE: Here some other posts on this subject:
More on That Locket
How to Build the Locket from The Illusionist, pt 1
How to Build the Locket from The Illusionist, pt. 2
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Wagstradamus Predicts!
Ten predictions for 2007:
1. The economy attains a soft landing, but the housing issue lingers and prevents a new takeoff.
2. The bloodiest month on record in Iraq happens in the spring, as the U.S. military takes on two fronts: the Sunnis and the Madhi army.
3. By the end of the year, Republican moderates arrange an 'intervention' with President Bush on Iraq.
4. Health problems muddy John McCain's prospects for the nomination.
5. Mike Huckabee emerges as a dark horse candidate for the Republican nomination.
6. By the end of the year Hillary is no longer the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Her opponents have had a fundraising bonanza on the internet, neutralizing her advantage. Name-recognition is no longer enough to lead the polls. Most critically, her tedious speaking style is exposed -- and seems even more boring when compared to two of the most charismatic pols in the country, Obama and Edwards.
7. The Spurs win the 2007 NBA Championship. Mark Cuban flips out completely.
8. Apple releases the iPhone, iTV, the Leopard OS, and introduces Blu-Ray compatibility in their professional desktop machines. All products are rapturously reviewed but their real hit is a strategic partnership with Google in online video.
9. Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren and (finally!) Martin Scorsese win Academy Awards.
10, Ratatouille and The Rise of the Silver Surfer are the movie hits of the summer.
1. The economy attains a soft landing, but the housing issue lingers and prevents a new takeoff.
2. The bloodiest month on record in Iraq happens in the spring, as the U.S. military takes on two fronts: the Sunnis and the Madhi army.
3. By the end of the year, Republican moderates arrange an 'intervention' with President Bush on Iraq.
4. Health problems muddy John McCain's prospects for the nomination.
5. Mike Huckabee emerges as a dark horse candidate for the Republican nomination.
6. By the end of the year Hillary is no longer the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. Her opponents have had a fundraising bonanza on the internet, neutralizing her advantage. Name-recognition is no longer enough to lead the polls. Most critically, her tedious speaking style is exposed -- and seems even more boring when compared to two of the most charismatic pols in the country, Obama and Edwards.
7. The Spurs win the 2007 NBA Championship. Mark Cuban flips out completely.
8. Apple releases the iPhone, iTV, the Leopard OS, and introduces Blu-Ray compatibility in their professional desktop machines. All products are rapturously reviewed but their real hit is a strategic partnership with Google in online video.
9. Forest Whitaker, Helen Mirren and (finally!) Martin Scorsese win Academy Awards.
10, Ratatouille and The Rise of the Silver Surfer are the movie hits of the summer.
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