Ploafmaster General

So I just got home from watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with Valerie. Two things must be said before anything else:

1. My wife is a trooper and sweetheart for actually wanting to see a comic book movie with me, especially one steeped in video game and indie rock nerdery.
2. Regardless of my feelings about this movie, you should go see it. It's a cinematic achievement for the visuals alone - not because it's broken new ground in special effects technology, but because it's extraordinarily creative in the translation of the books to the screen. While there are many direct visual quotations of certain panels, there are plenty of cleverly designed extras and embellishments along the way that help merge the worlds of fantasy and reality.

But what did I think? Well I loved it...mostly.

Besides the joy of seeing a beloved piece of visual literature on screen, I appreciated many of the acting choices, the directing glory of Edgar Wright, and the sound track. Seriously, there was some tasty and grungy-dirty rock in this movie. The pace was exhilarating without feeling rushed. The references to video games (both visible and audible) activated my nostalgia gland. There were movie and television tropes galore used simultaneously as parody and loving homage.

So why the "mostly"? Well it has to do with some of what didn't make it from the books to the screenplay. And no, I'm not hemming and hawing about picky details that I would have loved to see (THE EXISTENTIAL HORROR THAT IS HONEST ED'S, for example). This movie was nearly two-hours and it flew by. So it wasn't simply that anything was missing; important character-development elements were missing. Some missing details made a few relationships and decisions hard to believe in the movie. And there were crucial bits left out that relate to Scott's maturity and reconciliation with his own bad behavior. So while don't mind that it wasn't a 6-hour canon-fest, some of the emotional weight that makes you care about Scott, Ramona, et al. just wasn't there.

I wonder, to some extent, whether this problem comes from the film developing simultaneously with some of the later volumes of the book. I can only speculate.

Ultimately I enjoyed this movie, though. I'll likely see it again, and I'm quite likely to buy the movie when it comes out. It lived up to 99% of the hype in my mind, but that missing 1% means a lot to me.

4/5

Here's a totally sweet animated short created by Adult Swim that covers a portion of the Scott Pilgrim series not included in the movie. It's great prep on opening night!

http://i.adultswim.com/adultswim/video2/tools/swf/viralplayer.swf

Oh my goodness, check out this super hot promo video for Move Merchants - a disc from Deepspace5 emcee Manchild and DJ Sean P. So hot right now:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpgXTgCKjnM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xd0d0d0&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&w=640&h=385]
(via my buddy Patrick)

As much as I love to cook, the main reason I've been such a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain is his writing. I've never eaten food prepared by the guy, but I've consumed his words on many occasions, and they're almost always fantastic. I'm also a huge fan of his show No Reservations on the Travel Channel. Here my love for food and travel mixes with my love of good film making as his crew has continued to push the boundaries of documentary television production.

With the love of his writing and No Reservations in mind, Mr. Bourdain's post today about the upcoming Rome episode is outstanding. The episode could end up being a flop, but reading about it was entertainment on its own. The care for detail, nerdy film references, the willingness to take risks even while riding high in critical acclaim, all rendered expertly in words that were a joy to read.

But I have a feeling the episode won't be a flop. I'm quite looking forward to it.

Check out these nifty Pantone colored pencils. Perhaps you can use a favorite Pantone coffee mug as a pencil cup?
(via Curated)

If I had an iPad, I'd get Sound Prism as soon as it clears the App Store:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=385CymvTecU?fs=1&hl=en_US&w=640&h=385]
(via Jason Fried)

Be patient with the commercial at the beginning of this video; the song is absolutely worth it. As one of the later entries for The A.V. Club's Undercover series, The Swell Season covers Neutral Milk's "Two-Headed Boy." Absolutely delightful.

These two old glass bottles were found underneath my house. The bottle on the left is mid-century Clorox bleach bottle, and the other is an after shave bottle presumably from the same era.

Ah, the sweet relief of finishing.

Last night was my last class meeting for the summer session of my MBA program. I was fortunate enough to be exempt from the final exam, so for the next two weeks I have no classes to attend and plenty of time to shoot some pictures before the fall semester starts up. I still have to work, but a scaled back daily schedule that doesn't include homework will be quite nice. So that's a full year under my belt, and a bit less than two remaining. May 2012 is the target, and it's near-tangibly closer.

On a related note, I spoke with the business IT professor last night about her potentially sponsoring an independent study I have in mind. I'm hoping to do some research into IT companies that have achieved stability and financial success without the use of venture funding, inspired largely by the "Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud" series from 37signals (yeah, I did just recently mention that - but this has been simmering in my mind for a few months). If I can put together a solid proposal (and the professor seemed mostly convinced already), I'll be able to take - for credit - what amounts to a customized course that supports my desired career path. Sweet!

So this is one of my first two test shots of the new PX 70 film from The Impossible Project. What better way to test out some new film than a picture of my lovely wife :-)

Technically, this is a color film. But as you can see it's fairly de-saturated. It's also a little splotchy, and this is after two days of resting. It's supposed to improve with time, and this image has, but it's clear this is both experimental and their first commercial release of the film. I have 21 shots left (between the current pack and the two unused packs), and I'm hoping to take advantage of tomorrow's ample sunlight to get some better shots. The color is supposed to be better in such conditions.

Regardless, I love that The Impossible Project was successful in producing this new stock, and I can't wait to see what improvements they make in the future.

Hah! Not-so-clever double meaning! You know, because it's my only serious hobby and because I often go out by myself to take pictures. Har har.

Anyway, this is mostly about the latter half of the opening sentence. The thing is, I most often prefer to take pictures alone. Wandering around the streets of Richmond, I seek out the cliché subject matter: decay, strange vandalism, quirky signs, and so forth. I've enjoyed a number of photo-strolls with my wife and a few friends, sure, but there's a subconscious constraint every time I go out with other folks; I have to stay with the group.

I say it's a subconscious constraint because nobody ever really enforces this. I'm sure I could head out to Scott's Addition to shoot some old commercial buildings with my buddies and just pick a meeting point and time where we rejoin after burning through a few rolls of film (or space on a memory card). But when I'm with other folks I feel pressure to stick with the group, and that's because recreational photography with friends is a social activity. I don't just get together with Dave or Jake to take pictures. I get together with them to hang out because I don't get to see them that often. This social aspect, of course, means that I take any opportunity I can to take pictures with my friends. But when I really want to get out and turn ideas in my head into negatives/positives/JPGs, I'd rather be on my own.

It's also, along with the aforementioned drive between school and home, some of the little "me" time I allow myself.

I'm trying to eat better, really, I am. I relapse a few times a day, of course. But I'm making some effort rather than no effort.

A difficult part for me is that I'm not really a salad guy. Sure, I love plenty of vegetables, but most of them are not in typical salads and most of them are cooked - at least when I eat them. Standard salad veggies, on the other hand, are not my cup of tea: most lettuces, tomatoes, onions, or peppers.

I've know for quite some time that I can whip up a spinach salad, however. And I like spinach! I can mix in fresh herbs, carrots, and some other great stuff. Lest we forget, I can also judiciously apply kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper or grains of paradise (a fantastic mild spice). But that would still leave me with a dry salad, because I just can't stand most salad dressings. Ranch? Anything with vinegar? Yuck.

So I'm working slowly...very slowly...trying to develop my own salad dressing that involves lemon juice as a substitute for vinegar. Nothing remotely close to success so far, but I'm plugging away. Something with peanuts perhaps? Maybe I need some coconut water to mix with that and a little fresh ground ginger. A lime instead of a lemon, and some toasted sesame oil, and I may be on to something. Then it's a matter of proportions.

Only time (and my taste buds) will tell.

RVANews posted today about Relay - a Charlottesville-based company that lets you order food and products from a variety of local/regional farmers and producers through a website, and pick up your order at a single location. Well Relay has expanded their service to Richmond, offering products from merchants around the greater Richmond metro area.

The site is a little janked as of this posting (I think they had a recent redesign), but I hope to try it out this week.

First person, self-referential introductory sentence that only hints at the full content of the blog post.

Another sentence that, still self-referential, connects the introductory sentence to this paragraph after an extra line (Parenthetical statement pointing out that the extra line was for dramatic effect. No mention of the amateur nature of this writing contrivance). Further explanation of the situation couched in a personal anecdote that has the tone of whining complaint. Rhetorical questioning of mutual understanding with readership - a readership that is, assuredly, small.

Here is where the blog post begins to collapse on itself. Tangentially-related point that causes this paragraph to devolve into self-pitying, half-coherent platitudes. Self-conscious recognition of derailed original intentions for this post. Obsequious yet still self-pitying apologies to hypothetical audience.

Dismissive valediction.

I always see this moped when I stop by the butcher shop, so it was only a matter of time before I photograph it, right?

Tonight I made it back to Secco for the first time in a few weeks (I know, I go there all the freakin' time). I was pumped, particularly, to be able to try one of the new dinner items: olive oil poached halibut. According to Chef Tim Bereika, the dish is elevated to it's tasty state using an almond crust, parsley sauce, corn cream, charred melon, prosciutto and halibut noodle. That "noodle" appears to be made by piping a halibut paste of sorts directly into the fryer. It adds a pleasant crispiness and a striking visual impact when the dish is delivered.

All components worked in concert to produce one of the tastiest dishes I've eaten at Secco. I'm already a huge fan, but this was a big deal. Richmond should be proud to have food of this caliber and creativity coming out of Carytown.

Hey, remember when you had to worry about skip protection on your portable CD player? If you were riding in the car with somebody you'd often have to hold the device gingerly on your lap because, despite said skip protection, the vibration of the car would eat that up in a hurry.

Hey, remember when you could buy the old formula of NyQuil over the counter without anybody suspecting you of being a meth head?

Hey, remember when you could, as a little kid, enter the cockpit of a commercial aircraft and greet the pilot? I got a little pair of American Airlines wings during a flight when I was six years old.

Hey, remember when the soles of flip-flops used to be made with an isotope of a rare-earth metal that would faintly stain your heels if you wore them every day? You had to alternate between your flops and some other kind of shoe every day unless you wanted folks to think you walked barefoot and didn't shower often.

Hey, remember when you could collect the UPC codes from cereal boxes and send them in to General Mills for gold coins? It took a whole lot of UPCs, but it was a way for a young boy to build his own gold stockpile.

Hey, remember when you could buy human organs on the open market? I don't know why they stopped doing that - they made for nice decoration in the middle of a coffee table, or a centerpiece at Thanksgiving.

Hey, remember when calling the right phone number just as the clocks were changing over for Daylight Saving Time would result in super powers? Well, maybe mediocre powers. I still don't see anything quite so super about triple the normal level of mucous production or the ability to cook soup in the can just by thinking about it. Although "shave your face by thought" was pretty sweet. I still miss it.

No? Wait - did all three of your eyes just blink in sequence?

Today The Impossible Project started selling the first new color instant film in years: PX 70 Color Shade FF (the "FF" means first flush - their first edition).

The examples look a little rough, but it's exciting to see new stock out there. It would appear this film is less temperamental than the Silver Shade variety, at least where heat is concerned. I'll know soon enough since I purchased a 3-for-the-price-of-2 pack this morning. I can't wait until it arrives!

Small businesses and entrepreneurs hold a special place in my heart. I believe small businesses contribute greatly to our economy in mostly localized ways. Entrepreneurs are those daring individuals who turn their ideas into businesses, often innovating along the way. There's a great deal of overlap between the two groups, of course.

My idealistic goal for my business education is to find a way to help small tech businesses and entrepreneurs succeed - to achieve and maintain profitability without sacrificing their ideas or what drew them into running a small business in the first place. This means I'm wary of the popular venture funding model where often cannibalistic firms trade large sums of money for sizable equity stakes and influence; where ROI and an exit strategy are more important than nurturing the idea that attracted the financing.

So I've always been encouraged and impressed by 37signals, a firm that achieved stable profitability, growth on its own terms, and complete ownership of its operation. The company has since accepted funding from Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, but not before already establishing itself as a healthy player in the marketplace. 37signals believes in the path it took to success, so they have an entire series of posts on their blog about other firms that built themselves up without venture funding. "Bootstrapped, Profitable, & Proud" shines a light on other firms that have over $1 million in revenue, accepted no venture capital, and are profitable.

Not everybody with an idea has the money to start working on their great idea right now, however, so some source of funding is still required. You only need a computer to start your own software development business (and most Americans have computers now). But not everyone has the equipment lying around to start hand-making high quality photographic prints, for example. That's where Kickstarter comes in. Kickstarter allows users to create fundraising projects. You set a financial goal to be paid out in an all-or-nothing basis. If you hit or exceed your target, you keep what you raise. If you miss it, even if it's by a dollar, none of the contributors pays. This method has been used to fund albums, films, and even hosting for Whiskerino. Fundraisers seek money in different tiers and typically offer some reward in exchange for pledges.

With that in mind, I absolutely enjoyed reading Craig Mod's essay on using Kickstarter to feed his entrepreneurial appetite (via Daring Fireball). Craig emphasizes the use of Kickstarter as seed money for a direction rather than a single project. That is, contributors often believe in the work of a fundraiser, not necessarily limited to one project. So why not use the fundraising power of Kickstarter to get your business off the ground? This is already happening, of course. Kickstarter has projects open for starting a food cart, a community biotech lab, and a college media website. Sure you can raise money to prepare for a photo gallery exhibition, but why not try raising money to launch a photography business?

Kickstarter has only been around for a bit more than a year, so I'll be interested to observe the limits and heretofore unimagined uses of its fundraising capabilities. Here's hoping Craig's Kickstarter tips find a broad audience and his essay/results encourage many would-be entrepreneurs to take the next step in making their ideas into realities.

I wouldn't exactly consider myself to have OCD, but I'm certainly a man of quirky routines. It's not always about the comfort of familiarity, either. Often, for me, it's about creating a process. Once I have my process, I can improve and compete against my own past performance. This silly business allows me to turn mundane portions of my day into games and minor achievements.

All of this to say that one of my main routines is the drive back from class (I'm still a graduate student) to the house twice a week. I'm not the type to require a lot of "me" time, but this semi-weekly trip is about right for my needs, so I stretch it out by taking a slightly longer route than necessary. I get enough time to hear an extra song or two, think over whatever's coursing through my head, and decompress from a long day of work and school. Most of the "game" portion of this routine comes from trying to beat traffic signals, make it off the line faster than my neighbor in the next lane, and time my braking/downshifting so that I infrequently come to a complete stop. I assure you I do this within the bounds of posted speed limits and I always use my turn signals.

The latter stage of this drive takes me down Overbrook Rd. underneath Interstate 95. The weather has finally come down from its woeful high temperatures so I've been comfortable driving home with the windows down for the first time in recent memory. So I'm driving along Overbrook as usual and head underneath I-95 where I smelled the familiar stink of city-provided hydrocarbon.

Overpass gas.

I grew up in New Jersey where Dunkin' Donuts are as ubiquitous as 7-Eleven. I'm no donut junkie, but I do enjoy them and appreciate quality. Living in Richmond, however, means a comparative dearth of donut shops. There are a handful of Dunkin' Donuts franchises around, but too far outside the city for practical travel. We have a lone Krispy Kreme that's reasonably close, and they're pretty solid. There is, of course, the excellent Country Style Donuts out by the airport on Williamsburg Rd (you can find their goodies at the fantastic Lamplighter coffee shop, as well).

So imagine my surprise when I drove past a new donut supplier yesterday on my way home from dinner in the West End. In part of the space once occupied by the Richmond Decorating Center I saw the bright blue and yellow sign for Daylight Donuts:



This morning I decided to check it out, and while it wasn't bad it wasn't really anything special, either. The chalk-written menu boards over the counter didn't indicate what donut varieties were available. Nor were there any little signs in the case by each donut. Sure, some were self-explanatory, like the cake donut with chocolate frosting and chopped peanuts, or the glazed cruller. But the filled donuts? The donuts with different glazes? I received quick responses from the staff to my inquiries, but I could see this missing basic information causing a slow-moving line during the morning rush. At any rate, I settled on the orange-glazed cake and a powdered donut filled with custard:



The donuts were okay. The orange-glazed cake donut had a decent texture, but the glaze had only the slightest hint of citrus and tasted, for the most part, like generic sweetness. My custard-filled powdered donut fared worse. This approximated, to my memory, Dunkin' Donuts' "Bavarian Kreme" variety, but with less success. The so-called custard had the same unfortunately fake flavor, but the donut itself was inferior to the yeasty baked goods from Dunkin, Krispy Kreme, or otherwise.

The shop itself felt too empty and boring - cheap and generic decor gave the impression that they'd set up in a hurry on a limited budget (perhaps they did). I understand this is a donut shop and not a fine dining establishment, but nothing about this place invites you to stay, let alone come back. I may return once more to try the aforementioned donut with chopped peanuts on top, but I'm honestly not that intrigued.