I was talking to Andy about fixing his blog layout and I suggested that he try Zemanta, he did both, and wow.
Now I can ALMOST read his blog, there are still a few minor issues like the comments are black text on dark grey which is very difficult to read. But now I can see that he has photos on his blog! yay!
Zemanta has a plugin for Microsoft Live Writer or you can use it as a web app via a Chrome or Firefox plugin. It suggests pics that you might want to put into your blog, as well as links for keyword, its pretty cool so far, but I haven’t fully dug into it yet.
Its a battle royal, high tech vs high tech, at stake is my next phone contract, a weighty matter indeed. Usually there are one or two features that sway me one way or the other, but not this time. :| Andy and I have hashed and rehashed this for hours and can’t seem to reach a definitive conclusion, so here’s the data on the Storm2 vs Droid:
Email It’s not uncommon for my Gmail to show up on my Storm before it shows up in my Gmail inbox. Thats some tight integration. BUT, you would expect tight integration between an Android (Droid)phone and Gmail, so I feel like this is a wash.
Phone The Storm has a nice application that works with GoogleVoice. But it’s somewhat loose integration and the user interface leaves a lot to be desired. The Droid on the other hand has basically native GoogleVoice integration, you actually replace the phone dialer with a new one that integrates natively with GoogleVoice. Clearly Droid is superior.
Screen/Keyboard The Storm/Storm2 screen with surepress/truepress is a real innovation and makes the UI so much easier to navigate. It also makes typing with the onscreen keyboard faster. The Storm2 has the new version that has multitap and multitouch. SUPER COOL. The Droid has a standard touch screen, similar to the iPhone. BUT, the droid also has the slide out keyboard, so it could be argued that the Storm needs the screen to make typing better, while the Droid does not. Neither one offers a Dvorak Keyboard. :( [UPDATE] the Droid has a software Dvorak keyboard that works very nicely. Search for “dvorak” in the android marketplace.
So who wins here? Its hard to say. The Storm screen IS better, by far. BUT, the Droid has a slide out keyboard so it doesn’t NEED surepress.
Network They are both on Verizon, love ‘em or hate ‘em, this is a wash.
Tethering The Storm offers bluetooth tethering. I use this quite a bit. It allows me to tether my laptop to my phone effectively turning it into an EVDO modem. The Droid does WiFi tethering, which is to say that the phone is basically a portable WiFi hotspot. Clearly the Droid phone wins out here.
Applications As of today, the Storm has many more applications available than the Droid. For example there is a Storm version of Slinglpayer, but not a Droid version. Sling Media are working on a Droid version though, and I feel like the application disparity will be non existent in a couple of months. So I feel like this category is a wash too.
So, who wins? Which is the better gadget? I just don’t know. Currently I am leaning towards the Droid with its tight GoogleVoice integration giving it the slight advantage over the Storm2.
I would not call “Dune” the worst movie ever, but to me it was certainly the biggest let down ever.
I just (re) read “Dune”, and was halfway through “Messiah” when Andy let me borrow his “Dune” DVD. Its been years since I saw the movie, and thought that with the book fresh in my head, now would be a good time to watch the movie again.
So before I review the movie, let me just hit some highlights of the book, this will help you understand why I don’t like the movie.
In Frank Herberts “Dune” universe there is a feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. The Atreides represent “good” and “fair” and “beauty”, while the Harkonnens represent the opposite. A classic battle between the light and the dark.
In this universe, gender roles are not what we would expect in some ways. Yes, its true that bloodlines follow the father (patriarchal), and House heads have wives AND concubines, both with legal rights, but this is all a facade. In war and politics women are considered equals, they are not frail creatures that need men to protect them. In truth, the women are in control of the Universe, and the men don't know it. The Bene Gesserit (a female order) have been surreptitiously influencing the House bloodlines for hundreds of generations for their own hidden motives. The Bene Gesserits train young women to be members and make them stronger in the process. They teach them to be stronger both mentally and physically.
In the book, Jessica is a Bene Gesserit that has been wed to the Duke of House Atreides, Leto. Well, not “wed” as she is a concubine. Their love is so strong that she defies the Bene Gesserit leadership and gives birth to the Dukes son (the hero) instead of a daughter as she was ordered. Thats right, Bene Gesserits can do that.
So, on to the movie…
First, what I liked about the movie.
They made it. I love that there is a Dune movie, its a great story and it had great potential as a movie, and in fact as a franchise.
They cast Sting as Feyd-Rautha. My initial reaction was “ho hum”, but Sting did a great job of capturing the character.
What I don't like about the movie, in no particular order…
The Harkonnens represent the bad guys. Yes, I get it. Every time you show the Harkonnens the scene lighting is dark. The Harkonnen Duke is clearly insane, this all points to “he is bad”. Is it really necessary to make his face be covered in sores? Really? It was just over the top. I kept thinking of Jar Jar Binks, as in “stop clubbing me with the stereotype, I GET IT.”
The Atreides represent the good guys. They value human life over property. In one scene Duke Leto is more angered at the near loss of 12 workers than he is at the loss of a harvester; ok, he is a “good guy”. The Duke loves his son (Paul, the hero) and his son loves him, this is very clear in the book. But in the movie you wonder “Is Leto a pedophile?” Seriously. They portray him as a crazy eyed zealot. It FEELS like their intent was to show Leto as a strong, but fair leader, as he is in the book, (think Jean-Luc Picard) but they missed, miserably. In the movie he comes across as a pompous, hot headed, weirdo. When Leto and Paul talk they give each other awkward lovers smiles. Weird. I will chalk this up to “bad acting”.
And speaking of bad acting… The entire movie is just one huge pot of bad acting, lightly sprinkled with the occasional scene that doesn’t make you cringe.
In the book, Jessica (the Duke Leto’s true love) is a strong Bene Gesserit, do yourself a favor, DO NOT MESS WITH HER. She will hurt you. But in the movie she is a weak simpering woman that cries a lot and needs protection. :| What the frak!? (The only story spoiler coming up…) In the book when Leto dies both Jessica and Paul are pretty devastated, I mean for good reason right? But they are on the run from the Harkonnens and don’t have time to mourn. At one point Jessica breaks down for a short time (measured in single digit minutes) and allows herself to mourn and cries for her dead Leto while they are resting. She then composes herself and continues being the strong matriarch and future reverend mother. In the movie she is ALWAYS crying or on the verge of crying. She is a weak, frail person that needs protection. Why would you do that to her character? What purpose does that serve? I can only imagine that the director just fell into stereotypes rather than create a faithful reproduction of her character.
The first time we meet the Fremen, they are in the desert, under the hot Arrakis sun, in robes. ROBES, and sandals. Now, if you haven’t read the book you may be thinking “So what, they were dressed like Arabs, what's the problem?” Well in the book, no Fremen would go out at NIGHT into the desert without a stillsuit, let alone during the day. This was a huge error with no purpose.
While I have lots of small things that annoyed me about the movie I will bundle them all up into two criticisms:
1) This should have been a multipart movie. There is no way that you can fit the entire story into a single movie AND do it justice.
2) The special effects should have been better.
ok, maybe three things:
3) The acting. OMG the acting. The problem is that many of the actors in the movie are considered to be good actors, I can only blame David Lynch, the director. What a tool. Producer De Laurentiis hoped that Dune would be the next “Star Wars” and it COULD have been, but not with Lynch at the helm.
So is the movie worth watching? Yes, very much so. But its just not all that it could be. :(
It has come to my attention that SOME of you have not headed over to “Thor’s Unemployment Blog”. Really, you should. While Andy doesn’t post as much as he should, his blog is still young and its coming along nicely. Anyway, its a good read and you should add it to your RSS reader or your list of sites to visit daily.
Its true. But I hate Wesley Crusher. ZOMG, that smug little bastard. Wil Wheaton on the other hand is just a funny dood with a great blog who just happened to play a snotty kid on ST:TNG.
Wil Wheaton is Andy in like 10 years, and since Andy is my godson, you KNOW that I think that he is super cool! Well, that and the fact that he is super cool ( I mean Andy, not Wil, but as I said, Wil is pretty cool too.) Check out this video of Wil being interviewed by the LA Times and tell me that you don’t think “hey, is that Andy?”
Anywho, Wil has a blog over at “WWdN: In Exile” its always funny, and frequently interesting.
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