Posts Tagged: Reviews and Top Fives
Top 5 People's Names
Some people have truly fantastic names. I'm stuck being called Daniel (sorry mom and dad) while there are people out there with names that exude power and intrigue. It would seem that naming one's child is a fundamental element to ensure their future success or infamy while avoiding mediocrity …
The Triplets of Belleville
Last night, I visited the lovely Bytowne Cinema in Ottawa, for the very first time, to see the animated film The Triplets of Belleville. It's a nice old theatre with a balcony and was perfectly suited to this incredible film. • Until a few days ago I hadn't even heard of The Triplets of …
Pop-up Books for Big People
Everyone knows that pop-up books rule. How do the authors make those crazy things pop right off the page? Anyhow, I received a pop-up book of Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture for my birthday. It's amazing. It has the Guggenheim in New York, the Robie House in Chicago, Falling Water in Bear Run …
Happy Birthday from Nullsoft
It's my birthday today and the good folks at Nullsoft must have taken notice as they released Winamp5 yesterday just in time for the celebrations. This release is a huge step forwards (and backwards in a good way) from the previous versions of the program. I've always thought these guys were …
UHF A-OK
Until last week I hadn't watched Weird Al's UHF since I was a little kid. I had borrowed the DVD from Stephen at least six months ago and somehow hadn't gotten around to watching it. It was certainly worth the wait. • Ah, the memories came flooding back of cruising along in my parents' station …
Top 5 Flag Designs
The last top five list I tried was very entertaining, so I'll try another. These are my choices for top five flags from around the world. Flags are some of the finest and oldest examples of 'branding' to be found and there are some truly wonderful examples. Simplicity and originality are the most …
Scrabbled
A few months ago a friend lent me a fantastic book called Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players by Stefan Fatsis. The author does a fantastic job of describing the intoxication of the game as he becomes more and more deeply involved in …
Top 5 Greatest Band Names
Compiling and debating top-five lists seems like an annoying habit that is easily transferable to a weblog so I may incorporate this as a somewhat regular feature. First up: "The Five Greatest Band Names of All Time". I base my incredibly subjective reasoning on overall impression and on the …
Lost in Translation
Last night my girlfriend and I went to Lost in Translation at City Cinema. I thought it was a subtly well written, well shot film that was a touch too drawn out. • The basic storyline is that Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a washed up actor, is in Tokyo to shoot a commercial and happens to run into a …