The next time you finish a conference, and wonder how it’s going to change your life, try these ten questions.
Month: March 2009
Roger Ebert on why he won’t use twitter
Roger Ebert on twitter, being present, and the future of the human race.
Ten Ways to Encourage Preschool Writers
Movie: 12 Rounds
Movie: 12 Rounds
I admit that I wouldn’t have seen this movie without encouragement from others: this might also be your stance, but if you’re a fan of the old action that have inspired it (it’s mostly a cross between Die Hard 3, and Speed), then I’d consider giving this a look.
The charm of this particular movie is its script. The script is riddled with cliches that are delivered as seriously as the actors can muster them. Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliff Hanger, Deep Blue Sea) keeps the initial setup going until even those in the cheap seats have worked it out. He’s a detective, they’re the FBI agents, the bad guy is ruthless (we have this in dialogue, and then he shows us too, just for good measure)
While the setup is a bit slow, and completely preposterous (one key action set piece here has the hero on foot, cutting through peoples’ homes a la the Matrix or Point Break, pursuing the bad guy who is in a speeding car), it gives just the right tone for what is to come.
When we get to the “12 Rounds” of the title – not, as you might think, referring to bullets, but really counting off the other action set pieces in the film – we’re left with a series of race-against-the-clock action sequences interspersed by cheesy attempts to show the characters interacting in a dramatic fashion.
This film felt like a family action film, and a combination of all that is great about fuzzy popcorn movies. It’s fairly light on swearing (trimmed down for a PG-13 rating in the states), there’s not too much on-screen bloodshed for a film of its genre, with many characters dying off-screen, and while a few characters talk of the number of women they’ve bedded, it’s left to the dialogue, rather than the screen to show this.
If you’re looking for an escapist film for a Friday night that you won’t have to think about too much, then this delivers admirably.
planting a vegetable garden
A range of advice on preparing and planting your own vegetable garden – getting the soil ready, working out what will go where.
an unusual butcher
Having seen at MKC this year the idea of having a “men and meat” night, where a butcher comes to your church, shows you how the various cuts of meat are made, and then you have a barbecue, I was interested to see this short video about a butcher that has created their own cuts of meat for restaurants and general customers.
how useful are surveys
Over at formulate we have an excellent article – Recalled behaviour is not fact about how often a person surveyed will accurately be able to remember the answer to the question you’re posing.
The Magic Behind Amazon’s 2.7 Billion Dollar Question
The Magic Behind Amazon’s 2.7 Billion Dollar Question – how a user-ranked review system makes their reviews possible.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 40!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar turns 40! – some commentary on the book, and a short animated video of the book which Puff found to be quite entertaining for its 6:12 run.
Book: Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found
Milk Eggs Vodka: Grocery Lists Lost and Found
I’ve been flicking through this coffee table book for a long time, and finally made it through to the end. This book is a compilation – by category – of discarded grocery lists that the author has collected. Though I didn’t always enjoy the tone of the commentary, there is something fascinating about looking at the types of paper, the handwriting, and yes, the lists that people make.