Remains of the Day

Aarrgghh! (and other cries of agony)

I just spent an hour trying to purchase Arcade Fire tickets through Ticketmaster.com. I want to kill myself. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life. I received just about every possible website malfunction and error message that website can put out, and 9 times I made it to the last page to enter a credit card # and a perfect 9 times I was turned away. Most of the time I got "Error Completing Your Request" and was just bounced back to the Ticketmaster.com home page.

I had my phone dialing Ticketmaster.com at the same time, and finally that went through. But all the good seats are sold out. I want to cry.

Technorati Tags: music, ticketmaster

iPhone

This entry published from my new iPhone. Sweet!

I wasn't planning to get one, but then at about 3pm I got a phone call fr Eleanor. She was in town for a wedding, but more importantly, she was in line at the AT&T store in Westwood for the iPhone. There were only 15 or 20 people in front of her.

I drove out to bring her a chair and to catch up. When they finally let us in, i got my hands on one. Then the clerk said he was holding the last 8GB unit for me. Did I want it?

Well, you know how that story ends.

Your newest Chicago Bull

This is the child of a former Miss Sweden and Yannick Noah (not, not David Stern, but the tall guy on the right in the photo). I can't find the words...

For what it's worth, which is probably very little considering how much uninformed banter sports drafts inspire, I think it was a solid pick. People keep saying the Bulls need a low post scorer but who was going to be that at No. 9? The Bulls are going to be a pain in the ass to play against next year with all their long-armed freaks and shot blockers in the frontcourt.

Plus, just look at that guy? He may be equal parts exuberant and irksome, but the Bulls wholesome punch needed some spiking, no?

UPDATE: According to one man's metaphoric imagination, we've drafted...Shakira?!

Technorati Tags: basketball, bulls, chicago, NBA, sports

WALKOFF!

I turned my head to the TV for one pitch, and KABLAM! Yeehaa!

Technorati Tags: baseball, cubs, sports

Two sequels tonight, one good, one bad

I caught Rodrigo Y Gabriela for the second time tonight, at the Ford Ampitheatre under a surprisingly clear LA evening sky, the temperature a perfect 69 degrees. It was a bit of a risk because bands with one album under their belt often lack enough material to fill a full set. At the same KCRW Sounds Eclectic concert where I first heard Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Lily Allen mailed in a set where she played her same set list for the umpteenth time. But Rodrigo Y Gabriela were so so good that night...

About a quarter of the way into tonight's performance, Rodrigo addressed just that topic when he said they didn't want to play the same set list they'd been playing all over the world. So he asked for requests, and the usual litany of cries popped out from the audience.

"Freebird!"

"Nirvana!"

After one person cried "Shakira!" Rodrigo played a few bars from "Hips Don't Lie." But the best cover of the night was when they dipped their toes into "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd--just a few strums from the opening bar--and then decided to keep rolling with it when the crowd started to sing along. Just one of those special moments when crowd and performers meet each other halfway, the type of spontaneous thing that can only happen live. They also riffed on Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," and I look forward to the day when they put out an entire album of covers.

After a few songs, early in the concert, Rodrigo took the mike and, in halting English, said, "I want to ask a question." He hesitated. And then he asked us if wanted to stay seated or to stand. They weren't used to performing in front of a seated audience, he said. "Do you want to stay seated..." Silence. "...or do you want to stand?" Everyone cheered and stood up, and with that, a charge arced through the crowd.

Few musical groups rally the crowd to their support with such unanimity. Even their constant use of the Irish-inflected "fookin" (picked up when they were playing on the streets of Ireland, just before they landed their first record deal) failed to deter the elderly woman seated in front of me, who danced a jig like there was no tomorrow. The music just takes you there.

One thing that always leaps off the stage at their show is the sound engineering. Two acoustic guitars sound like an entire band under the skilled hand of their sound engineering team. A revelation at this show was the video projected on a white sheet behind them featuring live black and white video footage of the two of them on stage, cut together in time with the music. I couldn't see the cameras from my seat, but I'm guessing they were portable wide-angle cams attached to the guitar or mic stands.

The Mexican guitar duo are touring the world for most of the remainder of 2007, so do yourself a favor and get out to see them. They just set down in LA after rocking a 15,000 person crowd at the Glastonbury Festival, and prior to that they've blown folks away at Coachella and Bonnaroo, among others.

After that, I rushed back down to the Bridge to catch another sequel of sorts, Live Free or Die Hard. Hollywood has been in sequel mode for years and years now, but I'm hard-pressed to recall another period beyond the last year in which they've deluged us with more (off the top of my head: Rocky Balboa, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Shrek the Third, Evan Almighty, Spiderman 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ocean's Thirteen, Hostel II, Saw 29). And I haven't seen one yet that caused me to feel much of anything (I haven't seen them all, but perhaps that's for the best).

Tory, Phil, Jen and I were the only ones in our theater cackling our asses off at the sheer risibility of Live Free or Die Hard. In its sheer earnest absurdity it did offer that pleasure along with the usual communal joy of the company of opening night fanatics. As a night out I got my money's worth but

Timothy Olyphant, as the chief villain, gives an epically terrible performance. Just mind-blowingly awful. The grand tradition of Die Hard was the bombastic bad guy, from Alan Rickman to Jeremy Irons. Olyphant is like a constipated Ryan Seacrest for the duration of the movie. I've long considered trying out season one of Deadwood, but it's tough to get over the fact that Olyphant is one of the leads. Then again, we did live through 8 seasons of Robert Iler on The Sopranos, so perhaps you can carry a weak link with a strong ensemble.

A lot of people like to attribute my distaste for a movie like this to being a film snob, but that's far from the truth. I got my start in movies watching popcorn movies, and I'm still the guy who waits in line to get opening night seats to take a big group of friends with me to see the big blockbusters at midnight. I loved Die Hard and think Bruce Willis is quite underrated.

But too many sequels are just excuses for us to hang out with characters again. They've long since halted in any development, and these sequels are excuses for us to see them repeat a song and dance. Story and drama are decoration, draped on a spine of action sequences. I'm not so naive as to think studios would ever initiate plans for blockbuster sequels by focusing on character, but I don't think it has to be an afterthought, either. A character that undergoes some sort of arc during a movie--that's the basis for compelling drama, especially in movies like this where we all know the ending going in.

John McClane is the same guy in Live Free or Die Hard that he's been since the first movie ended. His character doesn't evolve in this movie; he arrives fully-formed and runs around while lots of gear explodes around him. What's worse is that the quasi-realism of the action set pieces in earlier Die Hard movies has been replaced by some of the most preposterous action sequences I've ever seen. Here is where I may spoil an action sequence or two, but maybe not since half of them are in the trailer. Anyway, consider that your spoiler warning.

In one sequence, the bad guys are in a helicopter chasing Willis and his sidekick, the Mac guy Justin Long. Though they are right next to the car firing away with a machine gun, they can't hit anything. It's just shoddy blocking. Then Bruce Willis takes out a fire hydrant and the resulting spray knocks the shooter out of the helicopter. A bit ludicrous, but funny as a sight gag. Willis then drives into one of the NYC tunnels to avoid the helicopter, so Olyphant orders his hacker team to direct traffic into the tunnel from both ends, and then he kills the lights in the tunnel while the cars are driving towards each other. For some reason, none of the drivers think to turn on their headlights so they all crash into each other and nearly crush Willis and Long, the monkeys in the middle. Angered, Willis drives his car into a tollbooth which somehow causes the car to launch up and out into the the hovering helicopter.

In the most ridiculous sequence, though, Olyphant orders an F-35 military jet to take out Willis, who's driving a semi. Thanks to Wikipedia I've learned that the F-35 featured in the movie is of the short-takeoff and vertical-landing (STOVL) variation, and it can fly under highways and hover over the street like a Harrier. The entire sequence culminates with Willis somehow hanging off the back wing of the airplane as it spirals out of control and...well, I won't continue.

As a form of disposable inanity, perhaps it delivers what lots of audience members want, and so part of the responsibility lies with the audience. In the bathroom after the show, a couple guys were high fiving and saying it was the best movie they'd seen all summer. Just now I perused the Metacritic page for the movie and was shocked to see how many critics stamped it with approval. Maybe the critics really have given up and realized they have no effect on popular fare like this. Or maybe I am that film snob.

Technorati Tags: concert, film, movies, music

Required a not-so-modest amount of work

[via Photojojo] A couple Modest Mouse fans got together and entered a stop motion video in the band's "Missed the Boat" contest. They printed out each of the 4,133 frames of footage provided by the band and then incorporated those printouts in stills shot on their digital SLR which were then fused into this video. Very clever. This required a huge amount of work--I sure hope those guys won the contest.

Technorati Tags: music, photography, video, youtube

Thanks!

To two folks who will remain nameless here. One sent me an gift of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. The package arrived out of the blue and the card read like a human version of Amazon Similarities--because you enjoyed All the Pretty Horses, I thought you'd enjoy this. I can't remember the last time someone just volunteered a gift like that based on my tastes--thoughtful in more ways than one..

And to another person for using an employee discount to land me Adobe After Effects CS3. Being a student with no income, it's tough to afford the software you need to do lots of your work, and student discounts help, but employee discounts make student discounts look stingy. Like no other group of students I know, film school students depend on the generosity and donations of so many people.

Technorati Tags: adobe, book, software

Medical mystery

Two articles on a remarkable Nairobi prostitute named Agnes Munyiva who has had sex with hundreds of HIV infected men yet has remained HIV free: a short article at Time and a longer one from a month back in The Observer. Agnes and 24 other Nairobi prostitutes are being studied to try and understand how they remain HIV-free despite behaving no differently than other prostitutes. Do they have a natural immunity?

Technorati Tags: medicine, health

Hollinger ranks this year's NBA draft prospects

John Hollinger unveils his new system for evaluating the pro potential of college basketball players. His system would have corrected for Carlos Boozer having been picked 26th in the 2002 draft (Hollinger's system had him ranked #1 in that draft), and would've suggested a pass on Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick in the 2006 draft. Of course, if you develop a system based on the past several years of draft data, then the system should do well by those measures, so we'll have to wait a few years to see how the system holds up. Still, the thinking behind the system seems solid, and I'm a big Hollinger fan so I'm giving the system the benefit of the doubt.

The big news, of course, is what the system says about this year's draft, and it gives Kevin Durant a big edge over Greg Oden (Bill Simmons will be pleased). In fact, Durant ranks as the top NBA prospect in the last half decade, besting Carmelo Anthony's raw score in 2003. Other findings: Conley ranks third, just behind teammate Oden, and Corey Brewer, Acie Law, and Spencer Hawes are quite overrated. Fascinating stuff, and it's available as a free preview from ESPN Insider.

The Wages of Wins journal has posted its evaluation of NBA prospects, and it has Nick Fazekas at the top of the heap based on Position Adjusted Win score per 40 minutes (which, notably, does not adjust for strength of competition). Durant ranks second, Horford third, and Oden fourth. Oden was hurt for much of the year so perhaps his score understates his ability. The PAWS/40 minute ranking also predicts Corey Brewer, Acie Law, and Spencer Hawes to be busts.

P.S.: I'm a Durant guy--I've seen him play, and to be that skilled at that age on the offensive end is special.

Technorati Tags: basketball, NBA, sports

iPhone--it was who we thought it was

David Pogue publishes the first official iPhone review I've seen yet in the NYTimes. Very comprehensive and worth reading for all who want a balanced report from someone who's tested it firsthand. Some highlights and lowlights:

• the glass screen doesn't scratch easily though it smudges
• the software is fast and beautiful and simple to use
• the phone is fun to use; once you buy the phone, you choose your phone plan at home in iTunes
• call quality is average and dependent on your AT&T signal strength
• e-mail and the web browser are great, and so is the battery life (Pogue suspects you'll recharge once every other day); however, someday the battery loses its charge and will have to be sent to Apple for replacement
• no chat program, voice dialing, or memory card slot
• you can't install programs from anyone other than Apple
• web browser can't handle Java or Flash
• the 2MP camera is good, but only for motionless, well-lit subjects, and it doesn't capture video or send MMS photos (i.e., picture messages). =(
• a biggie: typing on the screen keyboard can be frustrating, and Pogue doesn't see it besting the BlackBerry on that front
• the biggest issue all along for me is confirmed, to my dismay: AT&T's network is lousy
• the EDGE network is super slow; web browsing will be painful

After the crush of hype, it turns out most of what was rumored and suspected about the device turns out to be true. Since I always carry my iPod and cell phone with me, the iPhone is attractive as a way to consolidate gadgets, and it sure would be great to get the real-time traffic reports via Google Maps here in eternally-congested LA. However, I had such a lousy experience with AT&T (in its Cingular guise) that I feel comfortable not waiting in line on Friday. I really wish Apple had found a better partner for this venture.

UPDATE: Walt Mossberg has his review of the iPhone up now as well. Here are some of his thoughts, which confirm my worst fear, that the iPhone is held back by being tethered to AT&T's network (when it isn't connected via wi-fi). Overall, he still liked it, but like Pogue, notes that it isn't a grand slam:

We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple’s iTunes software.

It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim.

It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.

The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.

But the iPhone has a major drawback: the cellphone network it uses. It only works with AT&T (formerly Cingular), won’t come in models that use Verizon or Sprint and can’t use the digital cards (called SIM cards) that would allow it to run on T-Mobile’s network. So, the phone can be a poor choice unless you are in areas where AT&T’s coverage is good. It does work overseas, but only via an AT&T roaming plan.

In addition, even when you have great AT&T coverage, the iPhone can’t run on AT&T’s fastest cellular data network. Instead, it uses a pokey network called EDGE, which is far slower than the fastest networks from Verizon or Sprint that power many other smart phones. And the initial iPhone model cannot be upgraded to use the faster networks.

The iPhone compensates by being one of the few smart phones that can also use Wi-Fi wireless networks. When you have access to Wi-Fi, the iPhone flies on the Web. Not only that, but the iPhone automatically switches from EDGE to known Wi-Fi networks when it finds them, and pops up a list of new Wi-Fi networks it encounters as you move. Walt was able to log onto paid Wi-Fi networks at Starbucks and airports, and even used a free Wi-Fi network at Fenway Park in Boston to email pictures taken during a Red Sox game.

But this Wi-Fi capability doesn’t fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data capability, because it is impractical to keep joining and dropping short-range Wi-Fi networks while taking a long walk, or riding in a cab through a city.

***

Short interview with Atul Gawande in the Freakonomics blog.

***

Today is the day of silence for Pandora and other Internet radio sites to protest the increase in licensing fees for online radio (a move driven in large part by the RIAA). Save Net Radio!

***

The Beastie Boys' are on Flickr.

***

Paul Shirley, having played with both Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, assesses the possibility of the two of them playing on the same team:

Having spent a similar amount of time in the semi-intimate company of both men, I can say confidently that two people couldn't be more different. Kevin Garnett is one of the most impressive humans I've ever been around.

Kobe Bryant isn't.

Technorati Tags: Apple, basketball, camera, flickr, gadgets, gawande, medicine, mobile, music, NBA, nytimes, phone, photography, pogue, puppy, radio, review, sports

Links

Orson Welles last movie was the 1986 animated Transformers movie, voicing the planet moon Unicron.

The iPhone rate plans: $59.99 for 450 minutes, $79.99 for 900 minutes, and $99.99 for 1350 minutes, all with unlimited data.

Technorati Tags: apple, film, gadgets, mobile, movies, iPhone

Good Cop, Baby Cop

Another Funny or Die skit starring Will Ferrell and that strangely precocious baby Pearl in her final performance. Who the heck is operating that camcorder? Easy on the zoom button amigo.