MorrisonFilm

Birdfeed

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:05:54 -0400

I knew Buzz Anderson was making a Twitter app for the iPhone. When the months rolled on and Tweetie came out and Twitterrific got better I really wondered how the hell Birdfeed was going to compete in the crowded marketplace. I figured that out within a few seconds of launching the app. Birdfeed competes by being excellent. The word that keeps popping into my head is “fluid.” The experience is so fluid and so smooth. Everything works exactly as you’d expect. The interface is so clear and unambiguous, there is no wondering how something works or what an icon means. New tweets automatically load when you get to the bottom, fulfilling my next request a priori. I never realized how clunky other Twitter clients were until I tried Birdfeed.

I also wish more developers lived in New York City like Buzz. I can only guess that the tweet caching feature was at least partially inspired by the fact that most of us New Yorkers find themselves with a lot of idle time on a train underground and therefore off the network. It’s amazing how many apps become utterly useless without a network connection.

Add to all this the fact that Birdfeed is lightning fast, especially on launch, and it’ll take a lot now to make me switch back to anything else.

(Oh and the icon is just wonderful too.)

My Tumblarity is way too low, so I thought I’d post an...

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:59:25 -0400

My Tumblarity is way too low, so I thought I’d post an inspirational and very deep message. Those seem to be quite popular.

Losing Award Rage maniacalrage: This depicts our recent...

Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:53:56 -0400

Losing Award Rage

maniacalrage:

This depicts our recent nomination but no award moment at the Hoboken International Film Festival, where the short that won also started with the word “Forever.”

Two Chipmunks Having a Serious Conversationfrom MPRC Episode...

Fri, 29 May 2009 12:49:58 -0400

Two Chipmunks Having a Serious Conversation
from MPRC Episode 11

maniacalrage:

This still makes me laugh every time I hear it.

Me too. Hearing this also makes me want to go back to our audio show.

Conan is back, June 1st. (via moth)

Fri, 29 May 2009 11:07:36 -0400

Conan is back, June 1st.

(via moth)

"Terminator Salvation lost me way before this, but the moment John Connor plugged a USB key into a..."

Tue, 26 May 2009 15:46:48 -0400

“Terminator Salvation lost me way before this, but the moment John Connor plugged a USB key into a Terminator’s USB port, there was just no turning back.”

- Me, To Myself Just Now, Thinking About Terminator Salvation

maniacalrage: I created this card today to send to Shawn,...

Thu, 21 May 2009 19:22:42 -0400

maniacalrage:

I created this card today to send to Shawn, but I realized it will come in handy for me because I feel this way about everyone.

Garrett likes to pretend he doesn’t care. It’s a defense mechanism because he loves me so much it scares the bejesus out of him. I’d be scared too. Thanks, buddy.

T minus 15 minutes until my long weekend starts. May there be a...

Thu, 21 May 2009 17:19:00 -0400

T minus 15 minutes until my long weekend starts. May there be a margarita or 10.

Friendships

Thu, 21 May 2009 12:23:15 -0400

shawn: what kind of friend are you?
garrett: i think it's pretty clear i'm a bad one
shawn: I knew that going in though
garrett: right. i mean, i was wearing that tee shirt that said it the day we met
shawn: I really wish I could complain about it but I can't. Also how we met that day I caught you shitting into my pillow case. That was a sign of some sort.
garrett: you would think so
shawn: Also that sign you put up on my front lawn that read "ONLY ONE OF US WILL MAKE IT OUT OF THIS FRIENDSHIP ALIVE." That was literally a sign.
garrett: ahh, memories
shawn: Yeah, seems like just yesterday.
garrett: so... are you blogging this or am i?

L. Gaga Revealed, 4th edition

Wed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 -0400

I won’t tell you that I love you
Kiss or hug you
Cause I’m bluffin’ with my muffin
I’m not lying I’m just stunnin’
With my love-glue-gunning

— L. Gaga, Poker Face

In this expository missive, Gaga lays bare her coy plan and dispenses with allegory and metaphor. For the listeners addled by her previous references to the “Texes Hold ‘em” style of poker, Gaga comes clean with a brash and playful yet brutally honest rap. She explains that she will not offer the typical actions of a true lover (kissing, hugging, affectionate petting, etc) because her vulva has, literally in this case, been less than honest. She is correct that she has not technically been lying according to the strict dictionary definition of the term as coitus lubricants are plentiful. Yet herein lies the essence of her thesis: she cannot reciprocate her partner’s love due to the fact that she is fantasizing that the phallus in play is actually a rubbery doppelganger, operated by the careful hand of her lesbian lover. The vast yet subtle conspiracy is finally exposed.

G.B. Lawrence from his 1842 masterwork, L. Gaga Revealed, 4th edition

Tip: if you are lost In New York City, set off a rocket. This way people will know where you are...

Mon, 18 May 2009 10:00:00 -0400

Tip: if you are lost In New York City, set off a rocket.

This way people will know where you are and can come to your assistance. If you don’t have a rocket a regular gun can be used. Fire it into the air five or ten times for maximum effect. (or about five seconds of constant burst shooting if all you have is an automatic weapon like an Uzi) I see people wandering around with maps and compasses… all you really need is rocket or a gun.

Steve Albini

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:38:00 -0400

Steve Albini:

I had never heard of recording engineer Steve Albini until reading about Jarvis Cocker’s new album Further Complications (which comes out May 18). I found his Wikipedia page a very fascinating read to say the least. Some choice quotes:

As of 2008, Albini is most active as a record producer. He dislikes the term and prefers to receive no credit on album sleeves or notes, or to be credited as a recording engineer if the record company insists on any credit at all.

And:

Unlike any other engineer/record producer with his experience and prominence, Albini does not receive royalties for anything he records or mixes;

[snip]

I charge whatever the hell I feel like at the moment, based on the client’s ability to pay, how nice the band members are, the size and directly proportional gullibility of the record company, and whether or not they got the rock … anybody on a major label gets fucked wholedong outright, figuring they’re never going to get paid anyway.

Wholedong.

Low-Fi Sci-Fi Rendezvous With Rama is perhaps my favorite...

Fri, 15 May 2009 14:23:00 -0400

Low-Fi Sci-Fi

Rendezvous With Rama is perhaps my favorite sci-fi book and this cover is perfect. Follow the link to look at the rest, they’re all excellent.

“Sanda created each cover using A4 paper, with all the typography printed and placed on the structure by hand,” Jones continues. “We then photographed each paper structure and, upon seeing the original black and white images, we didn’t feel that any tweaking or further alterations were needed.”

via

All would be instantly forgiven

Thu, 14 May 2009 10:31:48 -0400

Shawn: also, the whole Swan station thing was always really confusing to me
Shawn: why they had to push a button every whatever minutes
Shawn: and why that need stopped when the hatch imploded
Shawn: and if that's all it took, why didn't they just do that to begin with?
Shawn: imploding didn't seem to hurt anyone, it just turned the sky white (not PURPLE as they always refer to it)
Mike: exactly, implode away
Shawn: Also, when that happened, Desmond should have been dead by all logic but no, he was fine, if a little clairvoyant.
Shawn: So clearly Jack et al will just be transported to wherever is convenient for the writers
Mike: and naked
Mike: the implosion removed clothes
Shawn: it's true!
Shawn: Maybe we'll finally get to see Kate naked. That would, sadly, make up for all of Lost's bullshit. If the opening scene of season 6 was just a 2 minute still shot of Kate naked. All would be instantly forgiven.

Star Trek, While Technically Proficient, was a Flawed Film

Tue, 12 May 2009 10:39:17 -0400

No, no, no, no, no. This is getting out of hand. Garrett critiqued my screen shot from Star Trek by contending that it was faked in Photoshop. On this count, he is correct, and I’m somewhat ashamed that I was caught. It was not an actual screen shot from Star Trek but a hoax. However, the bigger hoax is his image where lens flares were actually REMOVED from the shot to support his arguments. Below I have obtained the real, original screenshot from an actual screener DVD I obtained.

I loaded it onto my Mac and grabbed the frame directly. Here you can see the original digital composition with all of it’s lens flares intact. In fact, the filmmakers were so careless with their effect that they even left the Photoshop palettes in this frame (Evidence that while yes, the movie did not use stock lens flares, Photshop was involved despite JJ’s lies).

And that’s science.

So distracting, am I right?!

A scene from Michael Bay’s Star Trek. I didn’t like...

Mon, 11 May 2009 17:14:00 -0400

A scene from Michael Bay’s Star Trek.

I didn’t like the new Star Trek. Listen, clearly the franchise needed a reboot if they were to continue. Enterprise and the last two movies weren’t totally horrible but they weren’t good either. They could have left it for dead for all I cared, I’d be happy to just remember the good episodes of TNG and move on. But this is Hollywood and they snaz up old things that we used to like. Fine. What bothered me about the movie was the desire to re-invent the origin of this old idea while simultaneously leaning so hard on the old material for support. Other than “Kirk is a rebel (daddy issues)” and “Spock is logical unless you insult Winona Ryder.” They left it up to your memories to fill in the characterizations. The plot wasn’t much better: Kirk and the gang attempt to achieve the ranks and positions they held in the ’60s TV show, while Romulans try to stop them. There just didn’t seem to be much point to it all other than an excuse to do flashy things with CG in between setting up big applause moments (which again, relied entirely on the past).

Listen, it was well made. If pressed I’d even admit that on it’s own terms, it was sort of good. It looked pretty, and there was lots of action. That was enough for a lot of people to like it, but I just saw an opportunity to do so much more. I knew I wasn’t going to like it and yeah, it’s a personal thing, I’m not making a judgment about anyone who did like it, it just let me down in a big way. I wanted some original thinking, not just a new coat of glossy paint.

Other gripes, in no particular order:
- What the fuck was up with the constant un-sourced lens flares?
- What was up with that water pipe scene, can anyone defend that?
- Ditto the big hands scene.
- What was up with casting Winona Ryder as Spock’s Mom, seriously, did JJ owe someone a favor?
- I’m sick and tired of time travel. Sci-fi writers, please come up with something better.
- What was up with Chekov? It almost felt racist. Of all the things to be totally faithful on…
- Did JJ let Michael Bay direct all the action scenes? Visually incoherent at points.

Assorted really good things:
- The entire opening sequence.
- Those “no sounds in space” moments. Pretty cool.
- The jump to warp effect was absolutely awesome and perfect, and alone may have saved the 2nd half of the movie for me.
- McCoy
- The fact that it gave me a lot to think about, even if it was mostly complaining.
- Reminded me how good Serenity was.

Cappuccino Ever since seeing this gallery of photos generated...

Thu, 07 May 2009 16:44:58 -0400

Cappuccino

Ever since seeing this gallery of photos generated with the iPhone’s terrible built in camera I’ve been inspired to try to get some nice iPhone shots myself. It’s a fun goal to shoot for. If you can get nice pictures out of it the iPhone it suddenly becomes an ideal camera to shoot with mostly because it is always in my hand.

I’ve created a photoset to catalog my efforts. So far nothing Earth shattering but it’s fun.

The number one key is that you absolutely must tweak the raw iPhone images otherwise they will all look like utter crap. I’m using Darkroom to shoot (hat tip Brad) and Photogene to play with the colors and crop. A little tweaking can go a long way. I’ve also got CameraBag but I have yet to really use it.

Strangest Dream

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:52:42 -0400

Why do we always begin our dream recolections with “I had the strangest dream last night…” Aren’t all dreams really really strange? Isn’t skipping in the park holding hands with Stalin and eating gummy worms probably pretty normal for a dream? Yet we get very excited about our surrealist dream output. Surely a truly strange dream would be:

So I had this crazy dream last night. I woke up, brushed my teeth, ate cereal. Then I drove to work. Worked hard for 8 hours, then came home, watched the Family Guy, read my favorite websites and went to bed. How fucked is that??

Giant Gay Storm National Organization for Marriage Colbert...

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:25:25 -0400

Giant Gay Storm

National Organization for Marriage Colbert Parody. Original here. (thanks Julie)

“Now you can put those wheat things on the...

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:37:03 -0400

“Now you can put those wheat things on the poster!”

—Tom Watson, on Forever’s Not So Long getting into its first film festival.

And he’s so so right.