Posted by Allen on June 30, 2005 under Technology | 
Sorry I haven’t posted anything in the last couple of days–all of my free time at work has been eaten up by Google Earth. (And to those of who didn’t get to download it before they closed the beta–I am so sorry. You have no idea.)
I feel like such a geography geek right now. I’ve always liked maps; it’s probably one of the reasons why I’m usually the navigator anytime we take a long drive or go somewhere we’ve never been. (Terry’s obsessive and manical need for control while driving feeds into that, too, of course. <wink!>) So playing with Google Earth has been a whole helluva lot of fun for me.
And it’s been educational, too: I’m gaining a much greater understanding of how the world’s put together, the physical relationships between different places that it’s hard to get until you actually see the world in 3-D. Did you realize exactly how far north England is, by the way? I live in the northeastern corner of the U.S., and England’s several latitudinal lines above us, yet I’d always assumed it was roughly around the same latitude. Learn something new every day.
I might start posting interesting things I discover in hopes that you’ll find it interesting, too–and I know that geography (especially geography of places outside of the U.S.) isn’t really one of the things that gets taught all that well or that often in American schools. Would you guys be cool with that? Maybe I could make it a weekly feature?
Posted by Allen on June 28, 2005 under Technology |
I’ve tried a couple of times to find a way to talk about Google Earth, but I just can’t. Words are failing me. You just need to experience it for yourself to understand.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love Google? Because I do. In unholy, unspeakable ways.
Posted by Allen on June 27, 2005 under Photography |
This photo of my niece was taken along the gorgeous Benefit Street in Providence, running dead through the Rhode Island School of Design with Brown University just up the hill. The College Hill district of Providence is far and away my favorite part of the city–just walking or driving through it, seeing all the talented and/or smart Brown and RISD students going about getting their learn on, makes me wish I’d been more serious about selecting a college when I was in high school. (No offense or anything, UWF.)
But those wishes are always fleeting: if I’d gone to RISD, or to Brown, or to the Kubert School of Art where I was actually accepted–if I’d gone anywhere at all other than UWF–then I wouldn’t be where I am today, and I wouldn’t have the wonderful wife and two amazing children and all the fantastic people I’m lucky enough to call friends.
So I’ll just cruise through College Hill from time to time, excited (and a little jealous) for those students getting to attend such fine schools, and I’ll think about what might possible have been…and about how happy I am with what actually is.
Posted by Allen on June 24, 2005 under Best Of, Pop Culture |
Isn’t there anyone left in Tom Cruise’s life who can tell him that the time has come for him keep his damn mouth shut? I liked the old, relatively private Cruise far, far better than the obnoxious, showboating knowitall who’s dumping his rat-pellets of condescension and simulated love all over the media.
What he’s done to poor Katie Holmes is one thing–at the rate they’re going, her career’s to be over faster than FOX can cancel a quality TV show. She’s already been told her services won’t be needed for the next Batman movie, largely because the suits at Warner Bros. were annoyed that her antics with Tiny Tom were overshadowing the promotion of Batman Begins. I doubt that’s the kind of career boost her contract with Cruise specified.
But as annoying as The Tom and Katie Professional Courtship Show has been, what’s really starting to get under my skin is his spouting off about Scientology all the damn time. Does he really think acting like an arrogant ass makes him a good poster boy for Scientology? Even the most devout celebrity Scientologists don’t talk about their “religion” all that much, Tom, and do you know why? Because they know that it makes them look like mush-brained lunatics to sane people.
It’s not just that so many of the ideas involved in Scientology are so bizarrely dumb. It’s Tom’s attitude and conviction that his is the only worthwhile spiritual path–anyone who disagrees with him is obviously just a big stupid-head and hasn’t done their homework, or else they’d agree with his views 100%.
Just this morning, Cruise got in a tiff with Today’s Matt Lauer because Lauer dared to question Cruise’s beliefs:
“You don’t know the history of psychiatry. I do,” Cruise said.
The interview became more heated when Lauer, who said he knew people who had been helped by the attention-deficit disorder drug Ritalin, asked Cruise about the effects of the drug.
“Matt, Matt, you don’t even — you’re glib,” Cruise responded. “You don’t even know what Ritalin is. If you start talking about chemical imbalance, you have to evaluate and read the research papers on how they came up with these theories, Matt, OK. That’s what I’ve done.”
The flat-out balls of those statements just blows my mind. Matt Lauer’s a smart, educated guy and I’m sure he didn’t get to be host of the Today show by not knowing what he was talking about. I’m honestly a bit surprised Lauer didn’t slug him. I certainly wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.
I can’t see Cruise’s recent Scientological blitzkreig bringing the funds of any new followers to Xenu’s coffers. If anything, I’d imagine it’s only exposing more and more people to its ridiculousness. Maybe the “church” will excommunicate him for…nah, what am I thinking, he’s far too rich to be kicked out. There’s still some buildings in downtown Clearwater the Scientologists don’t yet own, so I’m sure Tom’s safe.
Oh, and in addition to not being able to recount how he and Holmes met, Cruise continues not to be able to offer up any valid reasons why he’s so head-over-heels, couch-hopping in love with her:
“I don’t want to compare things,” Cruise said. “It’s that thing where you just — in life when it just happens. … You meet someone. And it’s — I can’t even describe it.”
Tom, it’s time to go back in your box. One of the reasons you’re a superstar and not just an actor is due to the fact that the public doesn’t know all that much about you. The less we know–more specifically, the less we know that doesn’t make us want to kick you in the goddamn teeth–the more we can project onto you whatever we want you to be.
And right now, what we want you to be is quiet.
Posted by Allen on under General |
…this time to our good friend The Most Excellent Michelle, who turns (I’m pretty sure) 29 today. I’m finding it utterly impossible to believe that I’ve known her for nine years, but, somehow, it’s true.
Michelle’s one of my very favorite people: she’s whip-smart, a truly genuine person, a helluva lot of fun to play Drunken Uno with, cute as the proverbial button and an absolute sweetheart–though I intend to keep myself off of her shitlist, because I don’t that’s where anyone would want to be.
(Hmm, I realized while writing that last paragraph that those qualities also apply to her husband, my good buddy Monkeyboy Jay. But I can’t be throwing too many compliments his way just now or I won’t have anything to say when his birthday rolls around.)
So happy birthday, Michelle! I’m looking forward to being able to tell you that in person next year.
Posted by Allen on June 23, 2005 under Pop Culture, TV, Writing |
Just wanted to throw some birthday wishes toward my hero, The Great and Terrible Joss (Whedon), who’s celebrating the big four-one today.
Over the last two years, Joss has become something of a heroic figure for me–he tells stories of exactly the sort I’d like to tell in exactly the way I’d like to tell them. His ability to write both uproariously funny dialogue and moments of true tragedy equally well, his passion for and devotion to story above all else, and his understanding and mastery of serial storytelling (both TV and comics) inspire me to attempt to do likewise in my own work. Whether I’ll ever come anywhere close to his level, I don’t know, but it sure won’t be for lack of trying.
I was going to get into a more detailed discussion of my love for Joss here, but I think I’ll save that for some other time instead. So I’ll just say “happy birthday”…and maybe go home and pop “Once More, With Feeling” into the DVD player tonight in the man’s honor.
Posted by Allen on June 22, 2005 under Memes |
So the wife tagged me with a big-ass bunch of getting-to-know-you type questions, and instead of responding via email I thought I’d put the responses up here instead of doing any actual writing today. I’m warning you now–this here’s kinda longish. But, because it comes from me, you’d be well advised to read every single word.
Away we go:
1. What time is it? 10:20 p.m.
2. What is your name? Allen Jason Holt. The “J. Allen Holt” part’s just something of an intended professional name–there’s some other schmuck who’s using “A.J. Holt” as a psuedonym, under which he/she publishes shitty crime fiction novels. I want to make sure I’m not confused with that person. Damn shame, too, because I would have liked to have used “A.J. Holt.”
3. Any nicknames? Not really, no. I will say that you can most definitely not call me Al. Ever.
Read more of this article »
Posted by Allen on under Movies, Pop Culture |
Just as a quick FYI: Because I know you all were just dying for my take on Batman Begins, my review is now up at Moviegeekz. Go. Read. LOVE.
Posted by Allen on under Comic Books, Movie Reviews, Movies, Pop Culture |
One thought kept bouncing through my head over and over as I watched Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan’s magnificent reconceptualizaion of the Batman mythos:
“They get it.”
Director Nolan (Memento, Insomnia) and co-screenwriter David Goyer understand that audiences don’t want to see the primary-color pap of Joel Schumacher’s last two Batman travesties. We don’t want superhero movies designed only to sell toys. We don’t want superhero movies that treat us like idiots for caring about these characters. We damn sure don’t want nipples on our bat-suits.
What we want are superhero movies that take the characters and the situations seriously. We want to feel like the filmmakers have put some serious thought into their work, that the filmmakers respect the intelligence of the audience. We want sharp dialogue and strong acting just as much as we want gripping action sequences. We want superhero movies that are just damn good movies, period. They get it.
(This spot seems like as good as any for me to say this: To all of you “journalists” who seem absolutely incapable of writing any article or review about anything comics-related without using “POW! WHAM!” or “Holy (Insert Lame Joke Here), Batman!”… fuck you. No, seriously. I’ve had it. I mean, c’mon…you do realize that the “Batman” TV show went off the air almost forty years ago, right? For you to keep making those asinine references is just lazy writing, honestly. It’s a shorthand way for you to wink at the reader: “Look how silly these comic books are! Aren’t superheroes DUMB?!” And it trivializes all of the amazing work that’s been part of the medium. Let Batman Begins officially close the circle and put an end to all of the BIFF! ZOW!s, OK?
Rant over. Glad we could get that straightened out.)
As you might have guessed from the title, Batman Begins tells the story of exactly how Bruce Wayne transformed himself into Batman. We don’t see Christian Bale in the Batman costume until well over an hour into the movie–and we don’t care. The early sequences with Wayne’s training at the hands of his mysterious mentor Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) and the inscrutable Ra’s Al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), leader of the quasi-terrorist League of Shadows, carry such excitement and emotional heft that we’re not in a hurry to see Batman himself appear. And we need these early scenes, for each scene adds another layer of understanding to the psychology of this broken man.
| Batman Begins (2005) |
| Grade: A |
| Directed By: |
Christopher Nolan |
| Written By: |
Christopher Nolan
David S. Goyer |
| Starring: |
Christian Bale
Liam Neeson
Michael Caine
Morgan Freeman
Gary Oldman
Katie Holmes
Cillian Murphy
Ken Watanabe |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
After Bruce returns to Gotham (an astonishingly real-looking city, none of the overblown art deco-influenced architecture of the previous movies), we finally get the answer to the question Jack Nicholson’s Joker asked in Tim Burton’s original Batman: “Where does he get those wonderful toys?” Nolan and Goyer go to a lot of trouble to show exactly how Wayne could have come to possess the costume and all of the gadgets so readily associated with Batman, largely thanks to Wayne Enterprises’ head of Research and Development, Lucius Fox (a relaxed and charismatic Morgan Freeman). The scenario laid out in Batman Begins makes perfect sense and provides a credible explanation for how Bruce built the Batman; one only has to accept the conceit that Bruce Wayne has an even greater stash in the bank than Donald Trump.
For having lost his father so early, Bruce Wayne collects a number of fathers during Batman Begins. It’s notable that we see almost nothing of Bruce’s relationship with his mother but several flashbacks to scenes between him and his father. Ducard acts as his first surrogate father, giving Bruce the focus and the physical tools to carry out his mission (and Ducard provokes the greatest anger from Bruce by suggesting Bruce’s father was responsible for the tragedy that took both of Bruce’s parents). Bruce gets his emotional support and assistance with the construction of the Batman identity from long-time family butler Alfred (a relaxed and charismatic Michael Caine). And the trusted Lucius Fox unquestioningly supplies with him his arsenal. Note that there are no surrogate mother-figures in the movie; that absence might explain as much about Bruce’s character as his overabundance of surrogate dads.
One of the greatest strengths of Batman Begins has to be its cast. Christian Bale might not look just the way I’ve always pictured Bruce Wayne (George Clooney was actually the closest of the film Batmen to the one in my head), but the intensity and emotion he brings to the role is undeniable; Bale’s eyes communicate Bruce’s anguish, passion and anger eloquently and forcefully. The veteran character actors populating the supporting roles–Caine, Neeson, Freeman, Gary Oldman (as Seargant-Slash-Future-Commissioner Gordon)–all absolutely nail their parts. I’m hoping to see more of Oldman in particular in the inevitable sequels. Cillian Murphy brings a fantastic level of creepy confidence and charm to the movie’s secondary villain, The Scarecrow. (And thanks to Nolan and Goyer for using two second-tier bad guys instead of any of the big guns–using Ra’s Al Ghul and Scarecrow rather than, say, the Joker or Riddler helped keep the focus on Batman, where it belonged).
The only real casting misstep was Katie Holmes as a young assistant D.A./requisite love interest. Don’t get me wrong, I like Holmes and she certainly wasn’t terrible, but there are many other actresses who would have brought a greater impression of drive, intelligence and passion to the part. Holmes just didn’t feel like an assistant district attorney. I felt like she’d been cast because she was gorgeous (which she is) and not because of what she brought to the part, which wasn’t a lot. The fact that her casting was my biggest quibble with Batman Begins should tell you just how highly I regarded this movie.
Batman Begins represents the culmination of the trend of recent comic book-based movies toward a more realistic treatment of superheroes. The first X-Men movie ushered it in, the first Spider-Man improved on it, and the sequels to each raised the bar higher. But none of those movies dealt with their subjects as impressively and intricately as does Batman Begins. The only other superhero movie that can be compared to this one in terms of treatment is The Incredibles, which featured a similar devotion to deep characterization mixed with blood-pumping action. And I feel safe in saying that The Incredibles and Batman Begins are the two best superhero movies ever made.
Posted by Allen on June 21, 2005 under Introspection, Technology |
The Associated Press released an article today about the fact that computer programming jobs are going to become harder and harder to come by over the next decade or so. Between management wanting employees with more cross-discipline versatility and the ever-increasing move of coding jobs overseas, things don’t look so hot for American software developers.
Like, for instance, me.
I don’t assume this one article to be particularly prophetic, of course, but this also isn’t the first time I’ve heard this scenario described. The article even seems to single me out in particular:
“If you’re only interested in deep coding and you want to remain in your cubicle all day, there are a shrinking number of jobs for you,” said Diane Morello, Gartner vice president of research.
She might as well have said “there are a shrinking number of jobs for you, Allen.”
I’ve been thinking over the last few months that a change in career might be necessary for me at some point in the near future. (Yeah, I’m working toward a career as a writer, but I’m thinking specifically here of my day-job career.) As much as I enjoy my job, I’ve been feeling topped-out lately and haven’t had much opportunity to learn new skills and grow into another role. Some of that ennui could be because I’ve been working on the same project for two years, which is a pretty new experience to me–my web-development career before this job had been much more in the build-’em-quick-and-move-on vein, working for multiple clients at a time rather than on one monolithic internal project.
I really, really, really don’t want to go into management. Nothing against you managers out there–I just don’t believe it’s a career track at which I’d particularly excel, given my personality type. And I’ve rarely seen any managers who actually seemed happy in their jobs, so that’s not a path I’m anxious to go down.
Is it a matter of specialization? There might be options that way–software architecture or database administration, for example–but I can see where almost any road I select could be yanked out from under me and sent to India (where it apparently costs about one-third what it does here to develop software).
I’ve thought of changing careers altogether, of getting out of the technology biz–but how, exactly, do I go about doing that? I get paid pretty well for what I do, and I certainly can’t leave this field to go start over at the bottom rung of some other career when I’m the one responsible for supporting my family. And there’s also the matter of training; I’m not especially trained to do much else (though, to be fair, I had no training for this career, either).
I like my job. I like coding, I like sticking my nose into my computer (not literally) and building tools and applications out of code. But I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to keep on keeping on as I have been. I feel like a crux point is approaching more quickly than I’d like, a period of great life changes condensed into a small timeframe. I don’t know how much time I have. But I’d like to be as ready as I can be when the crux point arrives.
