I'm writing a fair bit, but I get home late, and don't transfer from my pilot, or I'm too tired to convert graphics for the blog. I promise this is a short-term thing, and I already have some possible solutions, but I won't leave you in the dark.

Things are great at Yahoo!. I'm having a lot of fun and I think I've found exactly the right place for me to be (and not just because some of the people there read this weblog!).

I'm working on two reviews for the blog, one of POE's album, Haunted, and a related review of her brother's book, "House of Leaves." It'll all make sense soon, but for the moment, I'm enraptured by both.

More soon, really soon.

So I watched a Friends rerun last night, one of the few I missed the first time around. It's Thanksgiving, Monica's invited her parents, and Rachel makes a torte but, thanks to stuck pages in the magazine, makes a half-torte, half shepard's pie, with banana creme custard and beef and peas.

The expected sitcom wackyness ensues, and when Ross tries to eat it, with only Joey in the room, he chokes and says "It tastes like FEET!" This was also one of the outtakes from the outtake show they did with Conan O'Brien a couple months ago, and I was wondering where that one came from. Now I know.

I mentioned to Emily today, idly wondering how he knows what feet taste like, and she turns right around and says, "Well, we know Rachel had a thing about 'Toes!!!...you know, for some people...'" referencing the episode where Rachel and Monica give chandler sex advice (and detail the seven (or, for Rachel, seventeen) erogenous zones.

Now that's putting two and two together. (Sorry if this doesn't make sense or you're saying 'so?' I found it pretty funny.)

On another quick note, judging by a couple posts on the net (can't find links at the moment) and by a second look at the 'iMac graphic' posted last week, it seems likely that while a similar device in principle is likely, it won't necessarily look anything like the drawing.

The sketch is exactly of the nature Apple includes in its patent applications, and it's almost certain that that drawing was created to support a patent for a tablet-able iMac. Whether such a device is in July's wings is uncertain, though the lack of another wireless technology to support such a high-bandwidth demand makes it unlikely.

So Jobs will be happy to read that it's still a big mystery. I feel confident that there will be some form of hybrid product coming out in July, but as to what.. Well, therein lies the fun of speculation.

Hey y'all! I'm still working out the kinks with Omnisky. I've been writing blog entries on the palm pilot, planning to post them wirelessly. Most of my blogtime is now on the train an hour to and from work each way, so I'm building up stuff there, without an easy synch method at home.

Regular updates are coming again. I'm fulfilling a promise to myself by going to sleep now, but in so doing, I'll be awake enough throughout the week to blog on the train and/or when I get home at night.

Yahoo! is a great ongoing adventure, as is the commute. Last Friday the train got stuck, the engine died (twice) and though I left my house at 6:45am, I didn't get into work until 11:45. Hopefully tomorrow will be more normal, and I'll be at work by 8:45.

Anyhow, Gaskell's was great on Saturday, though very sparsely attended (I've never seen so empty a Gaskell's Ball), but the upside is I got the chance to dance with some new people, and a few very good dancers.

Off to bed for me now. I have a list of interface-related posts that are in process, and most likely I'll have a large block of posts tomorrow evening or Tuesday. Until then, stay tuned, enjoy, read the arcives, and have a great Monday!

  --Kevin

The Register had a compelling article today, allegedly giving details of the iMac to be announced at Macworld New York next month.

The twist on their article is that the iMac will have a detachable LCD display, that could be used as a webpad (iPad) via an unspecified wireless technology (though it's unlikely that it's Airport, unless the pad is actually a thin client with an on-board windowing system).

The article claims, and I concur, that this could make sense of Alpha Top's comments regarding a 'bigger-screened iBook', as the unit is functionally very similar to the new iBook, and is roughly the same size. It also rings true with the marketing analysis I published last month, and may be the hardware that proves the webpad market, which could result in similar most-in-one tablets later on. It actually makes more sense than an iPad, in the near term. If Apple has found a reasonable wireless technology to connect the pad to a base unit, then the entire unit could be substantially less expensive to produce (as they don't have to cram the hardware into a light, thin box), and could have a lot more hardware (firewire, DVD, etc.) for the same reasons.

While the sketch is clearly not production quality, it's a design which, pending Apple's styling, makes a lot of sense. As for how well the functionality of the detached monitor (which would presumably be touch-sensitive), we'll just have to wait and see. A new iMac is a virtual certainty though, considering the new initiatives Apple's introduced to eliminate existing iMacs from the channel (free MP3 players and 6-month interest-free financing).

"There's no such thing as an ugly color, only ugly amounts of color."

-- Rob Roy Kelly, 1982

I know posting's been kinda slow these past few days. I've been getting into the groove of work, and haven't been home, staying over at Emily's to keep Kisa company while Emily's away on business, while also making my commute just a little bit shorter.

I (always) have things to write about, but while the site may seem a little slow, I'm doing things (real things, not just ideas) on the back end that will come to fruition before the end of the week, if not earlier.

Meanwhile, let me say that any feelings I had about being a pushover reviewer for lauding Shrek and Moulin Rouge so highly were vanquished when I checked out their respective poll rankings on IMDB.

Moulin Rouge, a story of Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and above all, Love.

I went in to Moulin Rouge not knowing what to expect beyond Nicole Kidman in a corset (which is all the motivation one really needs), but I was immediately wrapped up in the story. The visuals were extremely absorbing, as was the narrative style. The characters and cinematography were engaging to the point where I almost couldn't take my eyes off the screen for a second for fear of missing something. Even so, this is a movie I may see again in the theater, and will certainly add to my DVD collection (and despite saying the same thing about Shrek a few weeks ago, this isn't something I normally do).

First off, the movie is very visually rich. Think Baron Munchausen, Romeo + Juliet, and Batman kind of rich. The cinematographic styles used are almost as diverse and oddly compelling as the use and choice of music in the movie, and both are cornerstones of the movie's success.

My brain was so focused on absorbing everything on the screen that I was actually thankful that in such a complex telling, the underlying story itself was kept quite simple. While in Dangerous Liasons the audience has to be on their toes to not miss a vital plot-point, here they are voluntarily keeping pace with the style more than the substance.

The story itself exists on several levels. At the top level is writer/director Baz Luhrmann's (Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom) lush cinematic window into a stylized 1899 Paris. Beneath that is the main character, Christian's retrospective narration of the story of the Moulin Rouge, written from his own experiences, but nevertheless from an omniscient perspective. His story of the Moulin Rouge is of his own love story, amidst the production of a musical, 'Spectacular, Spectacular!' which mirrors his own story. This recursive nature, and the richness of the Moulin Rouge club itself allow Luhrmann to explore more visual levels. Unlike the almost monotonous visual richness of Batman, Dark City, or Dick Tracy, Moulin Rouge uses extreme contrasts in rich decadence and depravity to ensure that the audience doesn't become desensitized to the visual parade.

On the music front, it's hard for me to say it with a straight face, but the use of modern (well, '80s) top-40 music (Madonna, Nirvana, The Police, Beck, etc.) works remarkably well (unlike in A Knight's Tale). Baz uses the music with real purpose, and relies on it, all the while making it perfectly clear that the use is tongue in cheek. This is the difference between parody (Shrek), farce (Moulin Rouge), and incongruity (Knight's Tale). In a way, the music is a crutch, as in several places Baz uses familiar lyrics to pull on heartstrings already instilled in the audience from years of familiarity with these love songs, while at other times the familiarity of the lyrics, told in such a different setting and with different intent, make for some hilarious scenes ('Like a Virgin' and 'Roxanne' are two notable examples). The film doesn't take itself seriously, though the characters within it take themselves very seriously, (including a truly impressive (and expresive) performance by John Leguizamo as, of all things, a lisping midget Toulouse Lautrec) which makes it all work.

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor did all their own vocals, and their work was amazing. Before filming The Matrix, the cast studied martial arts for four months solid, and the results were pivotal to the success of the film. In this case, four months of voice work preceeded shooting, and the results are similarly impressive. If Ewan McGregor's career as a Jedi ever falls short, he can always find work as a vocalist. In fact, perhaps Nicole Kidman should try the vocal track. She's actually that good.

Throughout the film I found myself drawing comparisons between Moulin Rouge and other movies. On one hand, it's Baron Munchausen meets Evita. On another, it's Romeo + Juliet meets Rent, or even Rocky Horror meets Curque du Soleil. One comparison I came away with was how this movie could singlehandedly jumpstart the next dance/costume craze (turn of the century can-can club). Like Swing Kids (swing), Strictly Ballroom (formal ballroom), and Flashdance (breakdancing, though not even the main part of the story), this movie may be just the right thing at the right time to spark the next big thing. I know that swing and ballroom are both falling out of the 'in' crowd in the Bay Area, and so far nothing has come along to replace them. We'll see.

On a final note, if you do see this movie (and you should) and you happen to be in the San Francisco area, see it at the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland. If you're in SF it's worth the drive to see it here on a Saturday night, replete with a live pipe organ player playing selections from the film for 20 minutes before the show, and a restored theater that is as close as you'll come to the venue portrayed in the movie itself. The paralell was not lost on the audience last night, and made for a remarkable experience.

Moulin Rouge was amazing, for many, many reasons. I highly recommend seeing it in a crowded theater this weekend. If you live in the Bay Area, you should see it at the Grand Lake theater, for reasons that will be clear once you're there. It's very cool.

Busy day today, but I'll write a review tonight (Sunday) and post it up here. If you have the chance though, don't wait for me. Go see it today.

Why should you read my movie reviews? Because unlike some people, I really exist! (and let me go on the record as saying that Heath Ledger, despite being popular with young girls, is not "this year's hottest new star."