Coraline

Saw my first 3D movie and was super impressed.  We all know that the 3D concept has been around in media since the 90s, but i think they really did a good job with this one. 

I kept taking my glasses on and off to see what was going on. if you can do computer graphics in 3d, can we paint & color in 3d? If I were to take a guess 3d scenes are a bunch of layers on top of another with different sharpness and blur applied to the traces.

I absolutley have to see this movie again.

This whole perfected 3d concept is new to all of us. During the movie, I was trying to gather what works, and what doesnt, thus far. 

I noted the scenes with one tone and low contrast. The ghost scenes, for example would have looked like a flat white cotton swab with out the 3D glasses. Some scenes, I was really blown away by.  There is one where blocks of the backround are chipping away and floating upward and coraline is running toward the screen.  Another shows a garden of odd looking flowers blooming row by row as the camera pans over it. Scenes with anticipated movement worked really well. (Like crawling though a tunnel that gradually got smaller) It was a happy medium on the brain and eyes.

Some thoughts:

Did anyone not think the neighbor character resembled the Genie from Aladain? 

Trends....

The Polish/Russian accent...... People are loving it, everything sounds funnier... Borat? 

The cat side kick...... as in Shrek. Cats are making a come back. In the past cats were only seen near witches or old women.

The use of fat people..... Wall-e and Coraline both use fat people as main characters. They bring out the "cute" quality of being fat. I guess it's a fact: Fat people are funny.

I can't say that I understood the whole storyline for the movie, but it was very visually stimulating. The way the movie makers portrayed family life seemed in tune with todays times. The poor girl was wondering the house begging for attention from her overworked and underslept parents. Her mom and dad always in seperate rooms. Dad in the office, mom fiddling with some papers at the kitchen table. Both parents seemed stressed and too drained to spend time and energy with Coraline. They did eat dinner together, however. 

Oh yea, and it was humorous to see how badly the dad went nuts by the end of the movie.

michele aches from ebay

I've been on my laptop trying to purchase this for a few hours and I cant log into ebay!

Some definitive moments with the Dali Lama.

On the way back from San Antonio I grabbed 2 movies to watch on the return to San Francisco.

Season 19 of "The Twilight Zone" - filmed January 1963
-and-
10 Questions for the Dali Lama

I ended up watching The Twilight Zone on the flight home. It was an entertaining way to fall asleep sitting up.

I just finished the 2d movie.
FYI: the Dali Lama does have an email. Its not dali lama at hotmail dot com, but it is something like that.

It was a film dedicated to the Tibetan people and to the guidance of their spiritual leader, the 14th Dali Lama of Tibet.
It had the journal entry feel while it followed a man's personal journey through India as he contemplated 10 questions to ask the Dali Lama. The film captured Buddhist & Tibetan history, included rare footage of the young Dali Lama, and outlined the Tibetan struggles againsts Chinese occupation......( He spent something like 3 years researching to find footage for the film!)


It was a good. The questions during the interview were not simplistic. Rather they got me thinking about one of my heaviest interests: culture.

How are cultures preserving their traditions, and, how much are they embracing the modern world to modernize?

DID YOU KNOW:
that internet search engines like Yahoo & Google sensor Chinese search engines so that all articles containing "Dali Lama" are controlled by the Chinese government.

Not every where in the world is there Freedom of speech or freedom of information.

His response to that are "......that the power of truth must come through openness and through information."

Now this is mysterious.......A six year old boy was appointed as a reincarnation of the panchen lama, one of the key individuals who will recognize the next dali lama... The boy and his family disappeard within days of the announcement. He is now the youngest political prisoner in the world. Instead, the Chinese chose their own reincarnation... That is just the gist of what the Chinese do to impose on the people of Tibet.

Its strange to think about that only a few months ago. I sat in class on the 5th floor of the Federal Building, watching the "Free Tibet" protest go by. The entire day people were talking of the protest. Our minds were so distracted we could barely be in class. Fortunately, we heard them yelling walking down Brannan and we all raced to the window to take it in. The class ended shortly after that happened. The teacher told us to "Go and Live History."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNpqIVgLu4Q


So basically, the Dali Lama rocks. At the end of the film, he advises us,

"may all the energies of all time concentrate on spiritual practice -and- to use the brain a maximum way in a spiritual field."

He says that you have to enter this kind of practice without expectation but to certainly spend some years on it.

Another idea sells

Drew asks me about my opinion on Starbucks selling oatmeal.
He's thinking about bringing it into Cafe Cento.

My initial reactions to the oatmeal thing was that it was kind of dull. They pulled a strategy in marketing where company A, B, and C are doing something and company D does something along the same "functional food-line" but not what company A, B, or C did.
Functional foods, provide nutrition. Trends today look to be in the functional food category with an additive.

yogurt, frozen yogurt, smoothies, but oatmeal?

Well, in 2005 :sales of ready-to-cat cereal were down for the fourth year.

At this time, carbohydrates were monsters- all we heard about was "The Atkins diet." Somewhere around the falling climax of the Low Carb Fad, Adkins himself died... And we all reintroduced carbs into our diets. From mentors, magazines, and news specials, we learned about "good carbs" versus "bad carbs" as we simultaneously watched Oprah slim down.

sO the fact that Starbucks decides to sell oatmeal as a "healthy breakfast food" does not surprise me. You know, I think Cafe Cento is unique in its own way. You should really try and bank off of what makes the cafe different from all others. I have a question---- What do the Italian's eat for breakfast?

Initially, I was curious with the new item in the top right corner of the pastry case, but in no way am I about to buy that stuff ! I mean, common - its instant oatmeal. It is no different than the Quaker instant - tear open - smell the sugar - add hot water. The only way I take oatmeal is non instant- with soy milk- honey- lavender - and a pinch of salt.

Also, you can buy pounds of oatmeal for like double the price of the portion.
Well, it is THE ONLY non greasy pastry there. It is warm. But- the reason why the oatmeal sold so much is because of the idea.
The name: "The perfect oatmeal" combined with the cute container is what did it.

I have always thought that the product launches at Starbucks are done quite well.

Although many partners don't care - every partner is given the opportunity to be knowledgeable ( a memo is sent to all stores about promotional items. Managers and shift managers are to make sure partners read it. Sometimes a quiz is issued as well!),

Coupons are made available, free bees & samples are handed out, partner recommendations, and point of purchase reminders all serve to make the sale happen.

I believe their efforts were successful by attracting the right people to "try the breakfast option" but I don't think oatmeal will stay on the menu as a top seller for that long.

That is my thoughts to the oatmeal at Starbucks...

This all started because Bucks said that it was the biggest source of sales last year... I would track down the source of that quote. It could be a number of things, like the oatmeal accounted for the item with the most growing sales.

Check last years biggest source of sales, and hmmmm... guess who we might find? The Starbucks breakfast sandwich. I would investigate further before putting oatmeal into the coffee shop.
My gut tells me that it's too late to jump on the same wagon.

To the longest game of phone tag

334-2121, blackberry owner named Dan / Danny / D- Kups / Kupsco

  I have been recently trying to contact you, for a reason I have now forgotten. There is something xhillllerating about leaving a message though. Its like talking to yourself, or a blank canvas with the other persons picture on it.. so im not going to bash on the game of phone tag.. because whats the hury anywaays? Both sides of the game are so mysterious.. on the receiving side of a message, you can check it when you want to, and use it as a mind gap when you could be doing something else. I just thought you know, that this posting would be a way to express and solve otherpeoples phone tag dilemas. Until I forget your name, or lose contact with my phone or my own name, we shall play on.