Screened

I’ve added recently watched films to the sidebar along with ratings. The ratings are out of 5, with a dimmer circle denoting ½. This is so it correlates with my IMDB ratings, which are out of ten. The idea has been shamelessly stolen from Robot Johnny. I hope you don’t mind, John. Please don’t send The Iron Giant over again…

Songs, Those Crazy Songs

Ok, you’ve probably already seen this list from McSweeney’s, entitled Possible Follow-Up Songs for One-Hit Wonders (if not, go and then come back, mmkay?).

But I’ve been thinking of another sort of list. Not-Quite-Actual Songs That Should Have Been on the Soundtracks of Actual Films. This actually happened, when Albert Brooks convinced Simon and Garfunkel to change the lyrics to “Mrs. Robinson” for inclusion in his film, Mother (1996). Here’s a start:

iPod: “Security Risk”

The UK Ministry of Defence has declared the iPod a security risk, due to its high storage capacity and ability to transfer data quickly.

The story also states that numerous corporations are considering banning the devices from the workplace due to “security concerns.” Am I the only one who thinks this is completely wrong-headed? What’s next? Removing the photocopiers and scanners? Banning cellphones with built-in cameras?

Security is not about technology. It’s about having a system of trust with your employees. Banning their music players will only erode that trust further, in my opinion.

Enough Already!

After another comment spam barrage (1,800 this morning!!), I think it’s time to do the upgrade to Movable Type 3.0. I’m a little apprehensive, but I really don’t have several hours to spend deleting this crap every time. Has anyone got any experience with MT3 yet? Will it kill this comment spam problem?

Hold Your Head Up

Congratulations to my friend Jay Kerr, whose short film “I Hung My Head” was chosen as a finalist in the 3rd Annual Stockstock Film Festival. The idea behind Stockstock is for each filmmaker to construct a short film from a common reel of stock footage. Sound and titles are the only things that can be added. It’s an exercise in creative film editing more than anything else.

Jay’s film, along with 23 others, will be screened on August 1st at the Seattle Art Museum. Bravo!