"An era can be said to end when its basic illusions are exhausted." - Arthur Miller

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Linkfest - Romney Gaffes Again

Romney: 47% of Country are Lazy Freeloaders
In a video (link above) authenticated by Mother Jones, Mitt Romney said "...there are 47 percent who are with [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. ...my job is not to worry about those people." In short, Romney said anyone who votes for Obama is a lazy freeloading victim. Last I checked, I have not freeloaded, worked full time since I was 16 and fortunately have not been a victim of anything except my own stupidity. The amazing thing is Romney held a rushed press conference where he stood by his comments brushing them off as "not elegantly stated" begging the question of the what elegant version sounds like. Amazing that for a man that can flip flop on any issue depending on what direction the wind is blowing takes stance of refusing to back down no matter what once embarrassed by a mistake. George W Bush behaved that way too often damaging results.

While that was one of the worse, those were not all of the ill-conceived, rich people matter most, comments from the governor. His belief that only the rich don't pay taxes isn't really true, turns out a whole lot of American's across the entire tax bracket spectrum have successfully gamed the system to pay no income tax (emphasis on income as that doesn't include all kinds of other taxes that pretty much everyone pays daily). He going to close their loopholes? Probably not. His disdain for anyone that isn't rich should not be surprising when he admitted in an interview that "middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less." The Census Bureau pegs the real median household income at $50,000. Remember his definition when he says he will cut taxes for the middle class because he really means the rich version of middle class and 99% of us are not in the category.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Nintendo Announces Price, Release Date of Wii U

Yesterday Nintendo held an Apple style press conference where they announced the price, release date and details for their next generation game system the Wii U. The system is basically an evolution of the Wii system first released six years ago. Even though it is "next gen" for Nintendo, graphically it just puts them almost level with the Playstation 3 and XBox 360. Both of which are in their twilight and expected to be replaced in next year or so.

Wii U
- Release Date: November 18th
- Two versions of system, the Basic ($299) and Deluxe ($349)
- GamePad: special controller for system with 6/2" screen, 2 analog thumbsticks, facing camera, gyro sensor
- Basic: White color, one GamePad, 8GB memory, AC adapters, sensor bar, HDMI cable
- Deluxe: Black color, one GamePad, 32GB memory, AC adapters, sensor bar, HDMI cable, console stand, GamePad charging cradle, membership to Deluxe Digital Promotion (digital downloads discount), and Nintendo Land game
- Both systems allow for USB external hard drives, backward compatible with all Wii games and accessories, built in wireless and 1080p output; full specs

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Apple Announced iPhone 5, new iPods

As expected, today Apple announced the iPhone 5 with a refresh of the iPod Touch, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle. While the iPad mini was not announced there is enough evidence to indicate that it will probably come in a separate announcement to avoid stealing the iPhone's thunder. The video of the keynote can be found here. Below are the highlights with links to more details.

iPhone 5
- Lightest (3.95 ounces) and thinnest (7.6mm) yet
- 4", 1136 x 640 resolution screen, adds 5th row of icons, sort of a 16:9 ration screen, may have to letterbox (black bars like on TV) for some apps
- adds LTE connectivity worldwide
- iSight: new 8-megapixel camera, improved low light performance, 40% faster photo, Panorama mode, 1080p resolution video but still take photos
- A6 with improved speed, better graphics, better use of battery
- new Lightning dock connector (80% smaller) with reversible design.
- Battery life: Apple gave stats but it looks like it’s about the same
- Colors: Black, White
- Improved Siri, ships with i0S6
- Price: $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB)
- Release date: pre-orders start September 14th, out September 21st
- Comparison to other mobile phones
- Hands-on

Friday, September 07, 2012

Amazon Introduces New Kindle Fire for 2012

Yesterday Amazon announced (video below) an across the board refresh of their Kindle eBook readers. The goal was same experience with faster speeds at competitive prices. From what I saw today it looks like they are meeting that goal. The line breaks down into four main areas - Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire SD, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle. Within each area you have several options on what extras the Kindle will or will not have.

The hardware differences account for the difference in prices and will be broke down below. As far as the operating system, all versions of the Kindle Fire are the same with heavily modified Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Since it is essentially a custom interface created by Amazon, they expanding existing features to better take advance of Amazon Prime and multimedia offering that Amazon has. Whispersync, which was used to sync where you stopped reading across devices, now has been expanded to audio books and games. For audio books it means listen (or read) wherever the audio book last stopped on another device without having to find your place again. For games that means picking up your last save on another Fire device (not seeing this application being nearly as useful as audio one). Another new feature is FreeTime, which provides a kids mode with parental controls. Another expanded feature is X-Ray. It was used to provide wiki like info on selected items in books, now it provides info from IMDB.com for videos and more info for use with textbooks.

Monday, September 03, 2012

RIP Michael Duncan Clarke (1957-2012)

Today Michael Duncan Clarke passed at the age of 54 way before his time. This mountain of a man was never considered A-list by Hollywood standards but that was due to lack of vision, not his lack of ability or skill. He had many memorable roles such John Coffey in The Green Mile, receiving a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination. He was also The Kingpin in Daredevil, Manute in Sin City, Bear in Armageddon, and so many more roles. His distinctive voice brought to life the characters of Kilowog in the Green Lantern series, Commander Vachir in Kung Fu Panda, and Atlas in God of War II.

Honestly I rarely care when a celebrity dies. It’s why most of the RIPs get jammed into one of my link fests. But there are exceptions and Mr. Clarke was one of them. I am truly upset at his passing. Hollywood and film has lost an icon.

I watched the TV series The Finder simply because he was in it. He brought a level of joy to his roles that few actors do. You could tell he loved what he was doing and took pleasure doing it. Something it seems few in Hollywood are capable of. I never read a bad thing about him from his peers. He seemed like a kind soul and it was because of him that I know what the phrase "a kind face" really means. I enjoyed what he brought to every role, and believe every moment he acted in. He was an immense talent and Hollywood will likely never see his like again. He will be missed by his legions of fans. Condolences to his family and friends.