Sunday, January 28, 2007  |  

- i am michiko kakutani -

Having realized I only read two measly books last year (unless you also count one audiobook experiment), I resolved to read more this year. The 3 I've read so far:

1. Perl Best Practices: I've been fortunate enough to attend Damian Conway lectures on two separate occasions (on Perl 6 and Obfuscated Perl) and he's one of the most charismatic and engaging speakers ever -- clever, funny and frightening smart. Although I don't agree with some of his suggestions in this book, he does offer plenty of useful tips and code snippets.
   
   
2. The Perfect Thing: I once swore I'd never buy an iPod. Now I own two and can't imagine my life without them. If you're an iPod owner, you'll read this book and go "omigod, that is soooo true!" over and over again.
   
   
3. Candy Girl: Rebecca's recommendation. It was mildly amusing but hardly shocking or insightful. It was her writing style that totally drove me up the wall though. It felt like she had labored over every fucking sentence, trying too hard to make it sound hip and edgy, and I have a suspicion that she has a very well-worn thesaurus. I just hate it when writers don't make it seem effortless, you know? And then there is the pen name. Diablo Cody? What is she, in junior high? Plus, I think "The Accidental Stripper" would've been a better title, no?

Thursday, January 25, 2007  |  

- 15 minutes -

Matt and Mark make their YouTube debut: watch them scream like little girls here.

Current music: Bright Eyes - Old Soul Song (For The New World Order)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007  |  

- high five! -

I didn't see a whole lot of movies last year, but these are the 5 I liked the most:

1. The King and the Clown
2. My Scary Girl
3. Borat
4. Volver
5. Thank You for Smoking

Tuesday, January 23, 2007  |  

- oscar, i'm ready to be heartbroken -

My notes on this year's Best Picture nominees, which have to be the weakest in years:

1. The Departed: Despite a great premise, Infernal Affairs was ultimately unsatisfying because the execution was so sloppy. And Scorsese didn't bother to fix a thing -- it was almost too faithful to the original, right down to those ludicrous rooftop meeting scenes.
   
   
2. Babel: Note to filmmakers: please refrain from using non-linear, overlapping structures unless you have a compelling reason. Doing it just for the sake of it doesn't turn your film into Pulp Fiction. Iñárritu had been fairly successful in the past with this approach (Amores Perros and 21 Grams), but here it was just a gimmick to cover up the simple storylines and their oh-so-tenuous connections. Having said that, Adriana Barraza should totally win best supporting actress.
   
   
3. Little Miss Sunshine: 2006's version of Napoleon Dynamite. Sure, it was cute at times, but it tried too hard to be quirky/off-beat and just came across (to me, anyways) as self-conscious and over-the-top.
   
   
4. The Queen: I haven't seen this, but I'm willing to give Stephen Frears the benefit of the doubt. I'll try to watch it before the big night.
   
   
5. Letters from Iwo Jima: Haven't seen this either. I've heard great things about it, but anything that involves Paul Haggis has got to be crap. Which means this is likely the one that will take the trophy home.

Monday, January 22, 2007  |  

- radio! radio! -

Back in my technowhore days, my first cube neighbor was another Vancouverite who had started on the same day. One of the things he worked on was the voice recognition feature of AutoPC (later renamed Windows CE for Automotive) and he had a tough time because of his thick Chinese accent. He'd scream "CD player!" into the mic and watch helplessly as the AutoPC launched the phone book (or some other app that's not a CD player). Ah, good times.

I ran into him in the lobby of my new office this morning. As it turned out, he left the Evil Empire just 2 weeks ago to work here. Small world, eh?

Current music: Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental

Monday, January 15, 2007  |  

- royale with cheese -

This past weekend's discoveries:

1. Moderne Burger: Just a couple of doors down from Feenie's (which was the original destination), the burgers were just as good (if not better) and a whole lot cheaper. Cash only.
   
   
2. Kava Coffee: I don't drink coffee so I can't tell you if it's good or not (David says it's amaaazing, but of course he's gonna say that), but does it matter when the owner looks like Jason Varitek?
   
   
3. Ayden Gallery: ...where I checked out some Shepard Fairey originals. The piece I liked the most was 3000 dollars. Ouch.
   
   
4. NFL Playoffs: I actually enjoy watching football now! How did this happen? With the Seahawks now out, I'll be cheering for whoever wins the NFC. To quote Dan Shanoff: "How can you not be rooting to see the Colts lose... again? But how can you actually want to see the Pats win... again?"
   
   
5. New G-Star jeans: Even at 25% off, this was the most money I have ever spent on a pair of jeans. They are worth every penny.

Friday, January 12, 2007  |  

- when music says yes, i say no -

Sorry about the lack of posts as of late -- I'm still recovering from 1) post-vacation depression, 2) not having any "alone time" during the holidays, and 3) the first week at the new job.

For now, here is the track listing for my year-end mix, ineptly titled "Mix for Matt 2006" initially, and then distributed to the Waimea Camp gang as "Kaua'i Mix 2006." Notice how the list is free of any vertical head-motion inducers.

1. Halou - Honeythief
2. The Pipettes - Pull Shapes
3. Asobi Seksu - Thursday
4. Sally Shapiro - I'll Be By Your Side
5. Camera Obscura - Lloyd, I'm Ready to Be Heartbroken
6. Junior Boys - In the Morning
7. The Blow - True Affection
8. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
9. Lily Allen - Smile
10. Spektrum - Don't Be Shy
11. Phoenix - Rally
12. Beyoncé - Irreplaceable
13. Fujiya & Miyagi - Collarbone
14. Luomo - Really Don't Mind
15. Barbara Morgenstern - The Operator
16. Booka Shade - In White Rooms