Wednesday, December 24, 2003
Year End Review Part I
So, I'm a tool and enjoy year end review articles. I've had a lot of discussions lately about the best and worst movies of the year, so here's my go at it.
Best Movie(s) of the Year
Return of the King: What a way to end the trilogy. How do you top the Battle of Helm's Deep? Two battles at twice the size each with giant mastadons. After going to the midnight showing at the Michigan Theatre (part of an audience of 1,700, the largest single screening in the world) I couldn't sleep at all that night. The movie was so incredible I had to lay in bed and keep playing it over and over in my head.
Lost in Translation: Enough about Bill Murray being back, for me, this film captured perfectly what it felt like to be foreign in Japan.
Kill Bill Vol. 1: Sexy women killing lots and lots of people. After my friend Greg recently stated that he liked Master & Commander because it taught him something about the human condition, I replied by saying, "You're gay. If I go to a movie, I want to see guys get killed and maybe some boobies and that's it." Kill Bill definately satisfied my movie going needs and it had Sonny Chiba to boot.
Worst Movie of the Year
Matrix Revolutions: So bad, I didn't want it to spoil my Snowcaps, so I put the box away. We all thought the Matrix was the work of some really creative folks, until we heard the words, "Machine City". So bad, I needed to see it twice.
More to come... and hopefully some responses as well.
Rob
So, I'm a tool and enjoy year end review articles. I've had a lot of discussions lately about the best and worst movies of the year, so here's my go at it.
Best Movie(s) of the Year
Return of the King: What a way to end the trilogy. How do you top the Battle of Helm's Deep? Two battles at twice the size each with giant mastadons. After going to the midnight showing at the Michigan Theatre (part of an audience of 1,700, the largest single screening in the world) I couldn't sleep at all that night. The movie was so incredible I had to lay in bed and keep playing it over and over in my head.
Lost in Translation: Enough about Bill Murray being back, for me, this film captured perfectly what it felt like to be foreign in Japan.
Kill Bill Vol. 1: Sexy women killing lots and lots of people. After my friend Greg recently stated that he liked Master & Commander because it taught him something about the human condition, I replied by saying, "You're gay. If I go to a movie, I want to see guys get killed and maybe some boobies and that's it." Kill Bill definately satisfied my movie going needs and it had Sonny Chiba to boot.
Worst Movie of the Year
Matrix Revolutions: So bad, I didn't want it to spoil my Snowcaps, so I put the box away. We all thought the Matrix was the work of some really creative folks, until we heard the words, "Machine City". So bad, I needed to see it twice.
More to come... and hopefully some responses as well.
Rob
While Rob's Away...
So, I was just checking out the Goodspeed Update, trying to see if anything interesting is happening in Ann Arbor while I'm in Chicago for the holidays and I read about two business closings. First, Bella Napoli on East University, my favorite place to grab a slice and listen to folks yell at each other in Italian, has closed its doors. Second, one of my least favorite places, the Del Rio, will be closing on New Year's Day.
When I first moved to Ann Arbor in 1999, South University was filled with the typical fast food national chains you would expect to see near any college campus. There was a McDonald's where the Bubble Tea place is, a Burger King where Starbucks is, and a Taco Bell where Bella Napoli was. Within a year, Burger King was gone, and then Taco Bell, and finally McDonalds. I thought that one of the great things about Ann Arbor was that these kind of fast food chains couldn't survive, even with a very obvious market. For the most part though, these places didn't close out of a lack of customers, but a lack of employees. No one in Ann Arbor wants to demean themselves by working as a fry cook. During my first year here, I saw a Wendy's starting at $10 an hour. For fast food work, that is obscene.
Well, Burger King turned into a Starbucks, which I guess is a disprovement, and McDonalds turned into the bubble tea shop (could someone please explain the attraction of bubble tea). Taco Bell turned into Bella Napoli. I loved Bella Napoli, mostly for the way they toyed with my emotions. The infrequent returns of the pasta buffet could make my week. The annual moving sign in the front window would get me anxious about where I would go for pizza next month. I will sincerely miss their white pizza with spinach.
As for the Del Rio. I hated that place from the first time I stepped in the door. Too dark, too clausterphobic. I was certain a fire would break out any minute and we would all die because there was no way to get out. Then there was the whole issue of a cash only bar. It seemed like no one brought cash with them to the Del, but they all ate and drank as if this wasn't a concern. And then there was the employees. A man could sober up waiting for a second drink and forget about asking for the bill, that was at least another half an hour before anyone could be troubled to bring it to you.
Now, I usually support labor issues, but I have some serious problems with the way the Del Rio workers treated their situation. Mostly, I have problems with the lack of informaiton they provided. I never saw any kind of response to the managements complaints, which I saw as legitimate. No one addressed management's assertion that employees were stealing (and that is why they started taking credit cards the last couple of months) and that this was contributing to a bar that was always packed running in the red for the past several years. And of course, there is the big one. No one said anything about why the wife of one of the co-owners was thrown out one night when she complained about the service.
Speaking of changes, I always want to give out a pseudo-obiturary to Bab's. Now under new management, they are attracting a different crowd and have a totally different atmosphere. They've always been owned by the same folks who own the Full Moon and when they saw how much money Barb was bringing in, the owners decided that they could do it better. Guess I'm going to have to find a new place to spend 3 or 4 nights of the week at.
Rob
So, I was just checking out the Goodspeed Update, trying to see if anything interesting is happening in Ann Arbor while I'm in Chicago for the holidays and I read about two business closings. First, Bella Napoli on East University, my favorite place to grab a slice and listen to folks yell at each other in Italian, has closed its doors. Second, one of my least favorite places, the Del Rio, will be closing on New Year's Day.
When I first moved to Ann Arbor in 1999, South University was filled with the typical fast food national chains you would expect to see near any college campus. There was a McDonald's where the Bubble Tea place is, a Burger King where Starbucks is, and a Taco Bell where Bella Napoli was. Within a year, Burger King was gone, and then Taco Bell, and finally McDonalds. I thought that one of the great things about Ann Arbor was that these kind of fast food chains couldn't survive, even with a very obvious market. For the most part though, these places didn't close out of a lack of customers, but a lack of employees. No one in Ann Arbor wants to demean themselves by working as a fry cook. During my first year here, I saw a Wendy's starting at $10 an hour. For fast food work, that is obscene.
Well, Burger King turned into a Starbucks, which I guess is a disprovement, and McDonalds turned into the bubble tea shop (could someone please explain the attraction of bubble tea). Taco Bell turned into Bella Napoli. I loved Bella Napoli, mostly for the way they toyed with my emotions. The infrequent returns of the pasta buffet could make my week. The annual moving sign in the front window would get me anxious about where I would go for pizza next month. I will sincerely miss their white pizza with spinach.
As for the Del Rio. I hated that place from the first time I stepped in the door. Too dark, too clausterphobic. I was certain a fire would break out any minute and we would all die because there was no way to get out. Then there was the whole issue of a cash only bar. It seemed like no one brought cash with them to the Del, but they all ate and drank as if this wasn't a concern. And then there was the employees. A man could sober up waiting for a second drink and forget about asking for the bill, that was at least another half an hour before anyone could be troubled to bring it to you.
Now, I usually support labor issues, but I have some serious problems with the way the Del Rio workers treated their situation. Mostly, I have problems with the lack of informaiton they provided. I never saw any kind of response to the managements complaints, which I saw as legitimate. No one addressed management's assertion that employees were stealing (and that is why they started taking credit cards the last couple of months) and that this was contributing to a bar that was always packed running in the red for the past several years. And of course, there is the big one. No one said anything about why the wife of one of the co-owners was thrown out one night when she complained about the service.
Speaking of changes, I always want to give out a pseudo-obiturary to Bab's. Now under new management, they are attracting a different crowd and have a totally different atmosphere. They've always been owned by the same folks who own the Full Moon and when they saw how much money Barb was bringing in, the owners decided that they could do it better. Guess I'm going to have to find a new place to spend 3 or 4 nights of the week at.
Rob
Happy Holidays
'Nuff Said.
Rob
'Nuff Said.
Rob
Monday, December 22, 2003
The Homeland
Is anyone else concerned about the way America has been dubbed the homeland lately? The way Tom Ridge refers to attacks against the homeland just gives me a very frightening ideological image of what this country is to those who rule it.
Rob
Is anyone else concerned about the way America has been dubbed the homeland lately? The way Tom Ridge refers to attacks against the homeland just gives me a very frightening ideological image of what this country is to those who rule it.
Rob
Last URL Finally Updated
Sorry it's been over a week since the last time this blog was updated. I promised myself that such things would never happen, but then there was finals, a return home for winter break, and a weekend of drinking bookcased by a DePaul basketball game and a Bears game. Now I'm relaxed and relatively sane, so its time to start writing again. More to come.
Rob
Sorry it's been over a week since the last time this blog was updated. I promised myself that such things would never happen, but then there was finals, a return home for winter break, and a weekend of drinking bookcased by a DePaul basketball game and a Bears game. Now I'm relaxed and relatively sane, so its time to start writing again. More to come.
Rob
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Regarding michael's Comments on Touch Screen Voting
And maybe if your completed ballot came out on a piece of U.S. currency we could get more than 50% of Americans registered to vote and more than half of them to actually show up to vote on Election Day.
And maybe if your completed ballot came out on a piece of U.S. currency we could get more than 50% of Americans registered to vote and more than half of them to actually show up to vote on Election Day.
Detroit Most Dangerous Once Again
According to a new study, Detroit, MI has retaken the top spot on the most dangerous cities in the U.S. For a brief, shining moment, St. Louis had topped the Murder City, but not anymore.
Click here for the full list.
According to a new study, Detroit, MI has retaken the top spot on the most dangerous cities in the U.S. For a brief, shining moment, St. Louis had topped the Murder City, but not anymore.
Click here for the full list.
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
Ann Arbor Graffiti
Just for fun, here's a link to a collection of images of stencils found throughout our humble home.
Just for fun, here's a link to a collection of images of stencils found throughout our humble home.
An IT Perspective on the Touch Screen Voting Fiasco
After the chaos which was the 2000 presidential elections, Congress allocated $3.5 billion for the modernization of U.S. voting systems. Touch screen voting became the "in" thing. Most of us have heard about the problems with touch screen machines not leaving an auditable paper trail and the companies that manufacture and program these things being serious Republican backers, but the following article from I, Cringely discusses the problems of touch screen voting machines from a purely IT perspective. Using the most current statistics, the author, Robert X. Cringely, predicts that Congress just threw away major tax dollars in a knee jerk move. Then there's the most interesting point Cringely makes, why would Diebold (ATM manufacturers who produces the touch screen machines in question) remove the paper trail functions of all their other products for a machine that is involved in something as serious as voting?
Check it out.
After the chaos which was the 2000 presidential elections, Congress allocated $3.5 billion for the modernization of U.S. voting systems. Touch screen voting became the "in" thing. Most of us have heard about the problems with touch screen machines not leaving an auditable paper trail and the companies that manufacture and program these things being serious Republican backers, but the following article from I, Cringely discusses the problems of touch screen voting machines from a purely IT perspective. Using the most current statistics, the author, Robert X. Cringely, predicts that Congress just threw away major tax dollars in a knee jerk move. Then there's the most interesting point Cringely makes, why would Diebold (ATM manufacturers who produces the touch screen machines in question) remove the paper trail functions of all their other products for a machine that is involved in something as serious as voting?
Check it out.
Friday, December 05, 2003
Miserable Failure
In case you haven't heard, there's a fun new Easter egg on Google. Go to Google and search for "miserable failure" and see what comes up at the top of the list. Fun for the whole family.
In case you haven't heard, there's a fun new Easter egg on Google. Go to Google and search for "miserable failure" and see what comes up at the top of the list. Fun for the whole family.
Thursday, December 04, 2003
Free Range Blog: A Response to the Nothingness of michael
I also take issue with my own claim that this blog is about nothing. The first two posts found on this blog came during a time when I had decided that I wanted to start a blog, but had no idea why, most likely as a source of self aggrandizement. Since then, I came to the decision that what will make this blog interesting will be the act of opening authorship up to a group of writers who can post whatever and whenever they like. It would be an experiment. The hope was that as people posted their opinions and feelings, the authors would begin to riff off each other, and one post would sprout another and another until our ideas were intertwined.
Instead of saying this blog is about nothing, what should have I said? What I meant by saying that this blog was about nothing, was that this blog had no barriers. The content is only controlled by the will/s of the authors. There are no topics which are off limit in this humble corner of cyber-space.
Then, how should The Last URL be defined? I've taken to calling it a cooperatively written blog. I think the title of free range blog may also suffice. No matter what we call it, I hope the content that is posted here breaks the form of any definition or description we may develop for it.
In direct response to some of michael's comments... While we all wish we were as witty as Larry David, the Davidian/Seinfeldian Nothing would be much too difficult to maintain. Discussions of the Existential Nothing could occur in this space, but I would not want to limit myself or any other participants to such a topic. I don't know if it would necessarily become boring in the short term, and I'm surprised to see you of all people wanting to walk away from existential discussions, but without any experts on the topic, the discussion would grow tiresome quickly. As for the actual nothing, all I have to say is ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg.
I also take issue with my own claim that this blog is about nothing. The first two posts found on this blog came during a time when I had decided that I wanted to start a blog, but had no idea why, most likely as a source of self aggrandizement. Since then, I came to the decision that what will make this blog interesting will be the act of opening authorship up to a group of writers who can post whatever and whenever they like. It would be an experiment. The hope was that as people posted their opinions and feelings, the authors would begin to riff off each other, and one post would sprout another and another until our ideas were intertwined.
Instead of saying this blog is about nothing, what should have I said? What I meant by saying that this blog was about nothing, was that this blog had no barriers. The content is only controlled by the will/s of the authors. There are no topics which are off limit in this humble corner of cyber-space.
Then, how should The Last URL be defined? I've taken to calling it a cooperatively written blog. I think the title of free range blog may also suffice. No matter what we call it, I hope the content that is posted here breaks the form of any definition or description we may develop for it.
In direct response to some of michael's comments... While we all wish we were as witty as Larry David, the Davidian/Seinfeldian Nothing would be much too difficult to maintain. Discussions of the Existential Nothing could occur in this space, but I would not want to limit myself or any other participants to such a topic. I don't know if it would necessarily become boring in the short term, and I'm surprised to see you of all people wanting to walk away from existential discussions, but without any experts on the topic, the discussion would grow tiresome quickly. As for the actual nothing, all I have to say is ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg.
