The 2012 Oscar nominees were announced today, and IMDB has a nicely-formatted list.
I did not know that Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published is a category, but the fact that it doesn't even include Best Picture-nominee The Help—based on the best-selling novel—tells me that Hollywood is so bereft of fresh ideas that they can't even fit all the re-imaginings into their own category.
Check it out, my site got a makeover!
I'd been meaning to re-do the theme here for a long time, and finally spent a couple hours building and tweaking an Omega sub-theme. I call it Fresh. I wanted something simple: I've always liked Joel Housman's theme and wanted something similar. Mine came out boring-er, but I'm very pleased with how it looks on mobile devices. If you're on a desktop, go ahead and shrink your browser window to see what I mean.
Back in October, I wrote about books vs. e-readers and when I use which.
I just wanted to do a quick follow-up on this and confirm that all experience since then backs up my decision to buy actual books for non-fiction, and reserve the e-readers for fiction only—but that doesn't mean that I've stopped second-guessing myself.
I've still mostly been reading non-fiction, but my Kindle, iPhone, and iPad have all got a workout this week, and I have a new appreciation for Kindle syncing. I've been reading the Hunger Games trilogy1, and the ability to seamlessly go between devices without losing my place has been fantastic. I've been reading on the Kindle at home, on the iPhone on the train, and on the iPad while giving blood the other day.
For straight reading, this is fantastic. I'm still debating where I may want to use the digital format for non-fiction, though. In particular, I think that memoirs and other books that fall into a story-like format would be good for it, but I've never felt comfortable taking notes in digital books. And that's exactly why I stopped using the Kindle for non-fiction: anytime I came across something I wanted to note, I would pause and debate how I wanted to handle it, because I didn't trust that highlights there wouldn't be lost—or more importantly, that they would be meaningless without the surrounding text to provide context. However, the important part of that sentence came at the beginning: "I would pause and debate." It was distracting and took me out of what I was reading.
I still haven't really tried iBooks, because there didn't seem to be a good reason to: books purchased for Kindle had more flexibility, in terms of devices. But, I think it might be worth it to try one or two books in iBooks to see how well it handles notes and highlights. The iBooks page on Apple.com indicates that notes can all be viewed in one place, and from there you can jump to the context within the piece. If it works smoothly, it may well be the tool I've been waiting for to get away from physical books.
More on that later. You can judge me if you must. ↩
It's been a long time since I've needed to carry a knife on a daily basis. In high school, I kept a Leatherman in my pocket, since I did tech support on all the computers in the school and backstage work for the theater productions; the screwdrivers came in handy more than anything else. In college, I carried a knife for a few years when I was on Tech Crew, and needed to cut things like gaffer tape and cable ties on a regular basis.
For those few years in college, I carried a Kershaw Vapor II, which I still have. It served me well for Tech Crew duties, but I haven't bothered carrying it since. It takes up too much room in my pocket for every day use, and the screw at the joint frequently comes lose and requires tightening. The all-metal handle may give it a nice look, but isn't all that practical.
After Ben Brooks wrote a couple posts about his knives last month—first a review of the SOG Fielder, then a follow up with details about several others—I got thinking about it and realized that a smaller everyday knife could come in handy1. I never carried the Kershaw because it was large and conspicuous, and when you live in a city—especially the nation's capital—you don't necessarily want to appear to be carrying a weapon.
I did some looking around and decided on almost the same knife that Mr. Brooks carries on a daily basis: the SOG Flash I, though I opted for the straight blade instead of the partially serrated version. Next to the Kershaw, it looks tiny.
I've only been carrying it for about a week now, but I've been surprised by how much use it gets. Granted, the DC crew here at Jackson River just moved into a new office2, so there have been plenty of boxes and packaging to open, but it's been plenty handy at home too. It's just the right size: small enough that it doesn't take up much pocket space, but big enough to be useful. The pocket clip is positioned at the very edge of the knife, so that it sites low in the pocket, and the spring-assist makes it easy to flip open one-handed (my Kershaw occasionally sticks, especially after I've had to tighten up that screw at the joint). There's even a safety lock, just in case. I haven't had to sharpen it yet, since it arrived razor-sharp already. I'm hoping that it will hold an edge well, but we'll see about that.
On the whole, I'm really happy with the SOG Flash I, and I'm glad I got it because it's proven to be a worthwhile addition to my pocket litter. Of course, now I need to start thinking about my next purchase: a proper fixed-blade for camping!
It didn't hurt that around this time, I started watching Dual Survival, and consequently, evaluating everything based on its worth in a survival situation. ↩
I need to take some more pictures of the office once we get in the last of the furnishings. There will be a post coming on that soon. ↩
From Scripting News: The bosses do everything better:
I said give him the code.
The way I figured it, either he pulled it off or he didn't. If he did, at least we'd know what he was asking for. Because when he sat down to implement it he'd have to answer the questions he didn't want to answer verbally. If he failed, maybe we could have the conversation we needed to have. Or maybe he would appreciate how hard the work was. Or whatever.
Thankful I haven't had a boss like this.
From Julieanne de Lechi:
Introducing our new game called:
“Don’t Be A Di*k During Meals With Friends.”
The first person to crack and look at their phone picks up the check.
I love this idea, but I have no idea why the text on this site is invisible.
Joel Housman just posted a video of Romney arguing with an Associated Press reporter. Go watch it, and I'll translate for you.
Did you hear what I said? I said I don't have lobbyists running my campaign, and he's not running my campaign.
"He's not running it, per se, but I won't deny that he's heavily involved."
Listen to my words.
"Semantics will get me out of this one."
Be more professional instead of being argumentative with the candidate.
"Presidential candidates aren't accustomed to being held accountable by the media, so knock it off."
From Microsoft Signature:
Many new PCs come filled with lots of trialware and sample software that slows your computer down—removing all that is a pain, so we do it for you! Every PC the Microsoft Store sells is put on a software diet and performance is tuned to run the best it can.
We call this process Microsoft Signature.
Just so we're clear: it's now considered a "feature" to buy a computer that doesn't come with a bunch of shit that should not have been there in the first place.
Movie star, conceptual artist, fiction writer, grad student, cipher—he’s turned a Hollywood career into an elaborate piece of performance art. But does it mean anything? A critical investigation, with bathroom break.
From Is James Franco For Real? -- New York Magazine
I was looking at Franco on Wikipedia last year sometime, probably while watching Pineapple Express, when I first read about his academic endeavors. The short version is that he's in several graduate programs, pursuing a PhD at Yale, and has plans to earn a second PhD from the University of Houston—on top of his regular acting career, mind you. I can't read that list without wondering why I can't manage to get more done in a given weekend.
Granted, this may not be as impressive as it sounds. Last month, one of his professors sued NYU, alleging that he was fired for giving Franco a D in a class that the actor rarely attended, and that the school had been pushing to make life easy for Franco for the publicity it would get them. Still, the New York Magazine article linked above does claim that Franco really does work his ass off and quotes several classmates and professors to back that up (that photo of Franco sleeping in lecture wasn't in one of his classes, but in a lecture he attended on top of regular classes).
I've often considered pursuing a master's degree in night classes, but I can't imagine trying to do what he's been doing.
The twin boys were identical in every way but one. Wyatt was a girl to the core, and now lives as one, with the help of a brave, loving family and a path-breaking doctor’s care.
Nicole is incredibly lucky to have such a loving and supportive family. I know this story has been posted all over the place already, but if you haven't read it already: Led by the child who simply knew - The Boston Globe.
