Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 75

Nothing says Christmas

like The Earred One in lights.

Click an image to see a larger version.
Sarah, as The Keeper of The Earred One, has fulfilled her holiday role and properly decorated her household demon.

The astute among you may notice that The Earred One is not sporting ears these days.  Her ears, alas, broke--as did her entire head.  She is always and forever, however, The Earred One, as she has been since she first entered our lives
Back then, she was looking strong and healthy--


well, as healthy as this demon ever looks.

Worry not, though, her power today is as strong as ever.

The Earred One is lit!  Bring on the holidays!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

is exactly what fans want it to be, and good enough that non-fans will want to see it, too.  With enough action that you're never bored and enough character development that all the main characters feel at least somewhat like real humans, the movie delivers a near-perfect combination of sequel and reboot.  I left happy about having seen it and ready for the next one.

I credit a great deal of this to J.J. Abrams, who knows how to work with modern myths, as he has shown with his reboot of the Star Trek series, and Lawrence Kasdan, whose script blends a new story arc with a great deal of fan service.

Is it a great movie?  No.  It is, however, one of the stronger entries in the Star Wars catalog, and that's enough to make it both hugely entertaining and a blockbuster hit.

On the off chance that you haven't read anything about the film, I'm not going to indulge in any spoilers.  If you're already a Star Wars fan, you must head to the theater now.  If you're not, if by some miracle you've never even heard of Star Wars, go see The Force Awakens and expect to have a fine time watching a good space opera.

It's now definite:  I'm ready for J.J. Abrams to make Jon & Lobo movies.

Good people

In the course of a typical week, one or another of my friends is likely to say, "People suck," or "People are the worst."  They can make strong cases by pointing to horrible recent events, or the state of our planet, or any number of other bad things humans have done.

I don't hold with their perspective.  I certainly acknowledge the great amount of bad that humans have done, but I also always try to remember the many bits of good women and men have accomplished.  In my experience, the vast majority of humans everywhere are trying to live their lives, better themselves, take care of those they love, and get through what are often rough days.

Yesterday, I gave up on my body healing itself and went to an urgent care clinic.  Every single person there treated me wonderfully, with care and with dignity, efficiently but not coldly.  I left with a prescription for antibiotics and something to help stop the cough until I could heal.

I didn't go until late in the day, so by the time I finished at the clinic it was almost closing time for the local drug stores.  I hustled to the nearest one and hit the pharmacy desk three minutes before the pharmacist was due to go home.  He was kind and nice and not only filled my prescriptions, he also took the time to answer my questions.

In this short trip into the local world, I interacted with men and women, with people of many colors, and all of them treated me well.

I've certainly had worse experiences, many of them, so I acknowledge that maybe I just got lucky.  I don't care.  Good people are everywhere, and, I believe, most people are trying to be good.  I will cling to this and the many other examples like it that I've experienced, so that I can remember that though people may at times be the worst, they are also at times the best.

If you haven't already seen this Christmas carol video

you need to watch it.



Henry Rollins, dressed in a red knit Christmas sweater with a lit-up "R", punking on "Carol of the Bells."

It's almost enough to make me start watching Colbert.

A very Rollins Christmas indeed.

If you're thinking about giving or getting a smartwatch

this holiday season, you should check out what Bill has to say on his Tech Everywhere blog.  A lot of people test tech products, but Bill is one of the few who live with them for weeks or months at a time before rendering his opinion.  The difference between a first impression and an analysis that reflects weeks of steady usage is often significant.

Bill and I don't always agree on tech toys, but I do always find his reviews valuable.

Check it out.




(Disclaimer:  Bill and I have worked together for over 30 years, and his blog appears on the site of the company we co-own.  It's still valuable advice, and I'd say that even if I didn't know him.)

Still trying to hide in the cave,

still trying to block the entrance with a rock.

Here's hoping I sleep 14 hours and awake feeling all better.

Hey, a guy's gotta dream, right?

Want to hear a radio show about PT?

Monday early evening, Bill and I appeared on the "Time Out" show on WCOM in Carrboro.  My voice during the discussion is painful to listen to--for which I apologize; I wish it was back to normal, but it's not--but Bill is in fine form.

If you'd like to learn a little more about PT and some of its history, you can listen to or download the show here.

My thanks to show host Bill Hendrickson for having us on his program.

Enjoy!

Cave, rock, sick, me

Every chance I get, I'm going into my cave, pulling a rock over the door, and crashing in the hopes of feeling better soon.  I know some people prefer lots of attention when they're sick, but I am absolutely a cave-with-a-rock-over-the-door fellow.

I do hope, though, to experience sometime soon an end to the coughing and sinus attacks.

Back to that cave.

The Hateful Eight Super 70 roadshow is coming to the Triangle

and I am psyched!  Steve told me about the news tonight; for more on it, check out this page.

The roadshow version is longer, includes a short intermission, and is in glorious 70mm!  I can't wait.

Everything louder than everything else

is not just the name of a song that Jim Steinman wrote and Meat Loaf sang, it's also a good description for much of the Las Vegas strip.

Consider the case of the MGM Grand Hotel's lobby this past Thursday night.  The hotel must push its mascot, the lion.  It's chosen gold for its Christmas main color because nothing says subtle like gold.  A huge UFC fight card is going to take place in its arena in two nights, but right now, the rodeo is in town, and cowboys are everywhere.

What then is a lobby designer to do?

The answer, in Vegas, is simple:  all of it.

Click the image to see a larger version.
Oh, yeah:  everything louder than everything else.