Baseless Opinions

RT @fivethirtyeight: #USAHockey fans should root for Sweden to beat Finland tonight — or any...

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:11:20 -0700

RT @fivethirtyeight: #USAHockey fans should root for Sweden to beat Finland tonight — or any result that goes to OT. That way we get #1 …

2010 Oscar Nominations: Snap Judgment

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:50:10 -0700

The Good:

The Hurt Locker. Loved this film and hope it gets Best Picture and Best Director.
An Education. Carey Mulligan was brilliant in this film, and I’m sad she’ll likely get overlooked for Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep.
District 9. Love the Best Picture & Screenplay nods. I hope it wins in the screenplay category. It’s more than just your average Sci Fi pic (I’m looking at you Avatar) and deserves heaps of praise.

The Bad:

There actually wasn’t too much bad this year. There are some performance nods where I didn’t actually see the film yet (The Last Station, Invictus) so I can’t evaluate them, but have heard good things. My only small complaints are:

(500) Days of Summer got shut out.
Star Trek not in the Best Picture category.
The Hangover’s “Stu’s Song” not in the Best Original Song category.

The Upshot:

The real bummer for me is that Avatar is going to win all the technical awards (which it deserves), leaving Star Trek in the dust. It’s a shame, because Star Trek was brilliantly made and looked spectacular. Any other year, it might have cleaned up. I don’t really have any personal favorites beyond those mentioned above. It’s surprisingly quite nice to have no big complaints, and what seems to be deserving nominations across the board. I figured I’d miss the usual righteous indignation for major snubs, but I just don’t. Should make Oscar Party pics a fun game this year!

People will buy anything if the right people tell them they should. And how much to pay for it.

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 02:15:33 -0700

People will buy anything if the right people tell them they should. And how much to pay for it.

Howl was definitely intellectual but quite excellent. Bears repeat viewing to catch the details in...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:10:37 -0700

Howl was definitely intellectual but quite excellent. Bears repeat viewing to catch the details in the animation sequences.

The iPad seems pretty useless for me. Pretty, but useless. And horribly named.

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:47:30 -0700

The iPad seems pretty useless for me. Pretty, but useless. And horribly named.

Satellite radio is awesome. Except for the fact that it doesn’t work in a parking garage.

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:48:57 -0700

Satellite radio is awesome. Except for the fact that it doesn’t work in a parking garage.

People are dicks because they want to be.

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:44:25 -0700

People are dicks because they want to be.

Bummed MA voters dishonored Teddy by voting in Brown, but more bummed that MADems couldn’t get...

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:06:17 -0700

Bummed MA voters dishonored Teddy by voting in Brown, but more bummed that MADems couldn’t get it together to run a decent campaign.

I’m with Coco!

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:02:00 -0700

I’m with Coco!

Team Conan. Definitely. #teamconan

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 18:08:06 -0700

Team Conan. Definitely. #teamconan

11 Ways to Visualize Changes Over Time – A Guide

Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:59:22 -0700

11 Ways to Visualize Changes Over Time – A Guide:

I’m obsessed with charts and graphs. I love lines, pies, bars, curves, and all. They are often the best method of easily conveying a real point, a silly observation or as a summary of a set of data. But what type of visualization to use? This guide is pretty helpful in guiding you toward the right way to present your information.

Via FlowingData.com

Favourite Memories of Ten

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:44:32 -0700

In honor of the imminent last two episodes of Doctor Who with David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, here are my favourite moments starring the crazy guy with the hair.

1. Midnight (S4)

In this classic story with a bunch of folk trapped in what is basically a train car with all kinds of invisible scary going on around them, Tennant shines as he tries to keep the masses calm and fight the baddie. He’s got a brilliant scene with guest star Lesley Sharpe as the tide turns for The Doctor in a not so good way. The two of them play off each other so well in what is a challenging scene to pull off, but make it look easy.

2. Utopia (S3)

This episode is great fun, scary and does a great job of setting up the next two finale episodes for the season. I especially adore the scene between Tennant and John Barrowman set on opposite sides of a glass door where The Doctor gets Captain Jack to admit how he feels about immortality and Jack goads The Doctor into admitting why he abandoned Jack. Great scene and Tennant nails it.

3. Human Nature/Family of Blood (S3)

This two parter had Tennant playing The Doctor and John Smith, the human he has to become to hide from the pursuing Family in the episode title. I remember reading that Tennant introduced himself as playing “John Smith” at the table read for these episodes, which speaks volumes for his approach to acting. At one point during the second part, he has to convey Smith, The Doctor pretending to be John Smith and The Doctor all in one sequence, which Tennant succeeds in doing convincingly. When I first watched it, I recall thinking that scene is why he is so good and also why I could never be an actor.

4. The Christmas Invasion (Special)

This was the first episode of Doctor Who featuring Tennant AND Ten. I loved Christopher Eccleston as The Doctor, and was wary of this new guy taking over the role. In this special, Tennant won me over immediately, showing that he gets who The Doctor is, but yet made the role his own.

5. Doomsday (S2)

The Season Two finale was absolutely gut wrenching for Tennant’s Doctor, and marked the end of the era of Rose. He evokes the brilliance and arrogance of The Doctor as he fights and defeats the Daleks & Cybermen, and then the absolute devastation at the loss of Rose. Just the look in his eyes as he stands against the wall that separates him from another universe spoke volumes.

Honorable Mentions:

The Waters of Mars (Special)
The Girl in the Fireplace (S2)
The Unicorn and the Wasp (S4)
Tooth and Claw (S2)
Gridlock (S3)

. @uselessfacts Emus are also inherently evil creatures that attack for no reason.

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:54:19 -0700

. @uselessfacts Emus are also inherently evil creatures that attack for no reason.

The amount of time it takes to prepare coverage for a vacation from work is twice the amount of time...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:40:29 -0700

The amount of time it takes to prepare coverage for a vacation from work is twice the amount of time needed to actually do the work.

The best TV series finale of all time is from Newhart. http://ow.ly/BM3T

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:46:21 -0700

The best TV series finale of all time is from Newhart. http://ow.ly/BM3T

NASA must have planned the discovery of water on the moon to coincide with the week of Doctor Who:...

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:45:26 -0700

NASA must have planned the discovery of water on the moon to coincide with the week of Doctor Who: Waters of Mars. Just to freak us out.

Solisbury Hill, by Peter Gabriel, is the feel good song of the year, every year.

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:35:21 -0700

Solisbury Hill, by Peter Gabriel, is the feel good song of the year, every year.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is overrated.

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:41:10 -0700

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is overrated.

. @uselessfacts Nobody is special, even if your mom tells you you are.

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:29:26 -0700

. @uselessfacts Nobody is special, even if your mom tells you you are.

Companies that auto-renew & charge you for services when you have a one year agreement are not...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:01:01 -0700

Companies that auto-renew & charge you for services when you have a one year agreement are not cool. I’m looking at you Gold’s Gym.