Year: 2008
-
Movie: Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda was today’s film. After a sick boy missed Saturday’s outing to see this animated movie, I accompanied him to an early evening showing. The boy hasn’t learned to restrain his reactions, so there was some shouting at the screen, some tears, and some outright laughter. I didn’t enjoy it much, but the…
-
Why removing Netflix Profiles opens a can of worms
Update: Netflix reversed the decision, and is keeping Profiles. Good news! Important starting point for this post: I’m a Netflix customer since November 2000, nearly eight years. Netflix celebrated its 10th anniversary two months ago. Wednesday’s email announcing the September 1 demise of Profiles landed with a thud, in this household and far beyond. Separate…
-
On the life list: L’Étape du Tour
I won’t be struggling up the Tourmalet this year, but I’ve added L’Ã’tape du Tour to my mostly-in-my-head life list. I’ve heard about various tour companies which help you ride along the Tour de France course. But it wasn’t until I read the NYTimes blog The Climb that L’Ã’tape crossed my radar. I strongly recommend…
-
Movie: The Pink Panther
A few weeks ago, I stepped inside Costco for the first time in years. I avoid most of the impulse purchases which inflate the bill (exception: dried blueberries, with added sugar… blech). But for less than $10, I couldn’t pass up the bundle of The Pink Panther and The Curse of the Pink Panther on…
-
Movie: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earned a Metacritic score of score of 65. I had to see it because Raiders is one of the best movies ever made. And because I find myself sharing the phrase “He chose…poorly” from Last Crusades all too often. Not much more to say than Roger…
-
Movie: Horton Hears a Who
I almost forgot I’d seen this movie a few weeks ago. Horton Hears A Who wasn’t on my must-see list, even with the kids. But when a friend wanted to see a movie, and I’d already seen The Bank Job and In Bruges, I was willing to catch this animated Dr. Seuss story. (My friend’s…
-
Movie: Garden State
After years of listening to the soundtrack, I watched the movie Garden State last night. Enjoyable small, character movie, which earned a 67 from Metacritic. That dives a bit under my score, but so be it. Peter Saarsgard, as always, sounds like John Malkovich all the way through. I wondered if they shot two (or…
-
Movie: Iron Man
Marvel ramps up its movie-making arm, and Iron Man is the most recent result. 78 from Metacritic feels spot on, based on what I saw two weeks ago. This is a comic book come to life, in the best way. Fun, funny, and connects the action dots pretty well. I’m not as familiar with Iron…
-
Memorial Day links
I’m ages behind in noting my reading and movies (pending: 11 books, 2 films), but before we head out to catch a Memorial Day parade in the Presidio, worth capturing some links in un-related paragraphs. Obama’s Wesleyan commencement speech, via Jim Fallows. Richard Feyman and the Connection Machine is an essay I plan to read,…
-
I clicked on a Facebook ad
People wonder whether social network advertising will prove as lucrative as the search ads which have driven Google to its current throne. I don’t have the answer. But this morning I saw an ad on Facebook that was relevant and interesting to me, and I clicked on it. It was a text ad, “Core Perform…