Month: February 2015

Deep Thoughts, Technology

Uncertainty & iDevices

From time to time, I reevaluate my tech devices and their place in my life. Anyone who knows me will tell you I actually obsess and take extravagant amounts of time to decide what devices I need. An exhaustive process that seems required research at this point in my life.

I genuinely enjoy researching the tech world and following its pulse. Im continually aware of much of the happenings and usually know whats coming to market before most people in the tech world do. So, on that note, Lets begin:

I have made some great purchases in the tech world. Purchases that improved my life, saved me time and enabled me to create some lasting memories. This post is not about those. It’s about the others, the messy ones and most importantly, the possible future.

Allow me to give you a little insight into my previous history in my travels of owning and purchasing 2 particular devices before we get to the subject matter:

IPHONE HISTORY
It took me until the iPhone 4 to be comfortable enough and deem the iPhone platform worthy of my full time usage. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t make the attempt previously. I owned every iPhone before the 4th (that’s 3 different models) and to be honest, during the “3GS” era I bought and returned 4 of them (for those counting that’s 6 iPhones). Just a merger of indecisiveness and not being able to fully use the device for my personal needs. When the iPhone 4 came out, I think what really sold me was the technology that it was boasting was too far ahead of what I was using, and seamlessly, a nice friendship ensued. I’ve owned a 4,5 and now a shiny 6.

IPAD HISTORY
I actually didn’t own the first generation iPad. Truth being told, I had doubts it was a going to succeed. BUT, the iPad 2 came around and all it’s shiny marketing, I gave Apple my money. Returned the iPad 2 and felt good about the decision. Almost a month later I started to want an iPad again and I couldn’t understand why. I just did, which is very unlike me. I decided I was going to wait until the iPad 3 came out and spring for that. They announced it a few months later,I preordered, received and a week later, returned. iPad 4 announcement, I purchased, I returned. iPad Air announced, I purchased and sold on eBay. Currently I don’t own an iPad, but it should come to no surprise, that the iPad Air 2 is constant bait hanging in front of me.

Hopefully by now you get the gist. Now give me some time to defend myself. You are probably asking why the uncertainty? Why the indecisiveness? Well, I have no clue. So you can stop reading if you thought I solved this equation. But I have thoughts….

Here are some of my needs to keep devices, or actually anything for that matter:

Need #1
Most importantly, I need to feel I can use the item to its full potential. The iPhone took some time because I lived my whole life without one. We all did, and then all of sudden it was there. I felt uneasy for the first 3 iterations. Like I mentioned, once the 4 came out it was time and it just clicked, It didn’t take work for me to want one. It was natural.

With the iPad, I am still in this ocean of uncertainty. I don’t think I can ever purchase one again unless I can fully use it as my laptop replacement. Having both the devices seems wasteful to me. I love my mac and it pretty much goes everywhere with me. I write on it, edit video, manipulate files, save great articles, index picture categories, work on the back end of my blog, so much. Until I can do all this as easy with an iPad I just cant see myself owning one.

Let me make one thing clear though, I desperately long for that day to come. As you can see from my purchase history, I have attempted many, many times to squeeze an iPad into my life. Ive heard all types of comments from many people:

1. “It’s a leisure device”
2. “You don’t have to use it for everything”
3. “Just use it to browse the web, etc”

While I completely admire and am infinitely jealous of people who can rationalize owning a device for a few select uses, I just cant. So these suggestions never have helped me much.

Need #2
The device needs to have some legs. What I mean by that is whatever device it is, it needs to last a long time. Physically it needs to hold up and so naturally, build quality is important but technology wise, the device needs to not be “sherlocked” 6 months later by newer, better tech.

This is why I usually spring for Apple products. Apple is not so paranoid about specs. They make their devices with the idea of the “whole” product. This seems to make for a long lasting, great experience with their product.

So I constantly ask myself why? Why do I want one if I know I don’t. I think at least half the issue is a philosophical element. When the iPad works, it does things extremely well. It’s not clunky like my Mac, It’s smooth. The limited tasks it does, it handles exceptionally well. Sure my mac can do everything, but it’s not an elegant experience anymore. iPad is a single purpose, streamlined convertible. My mac is a multi purpose, gas guzzling truck. Couple that with the fact the iPad is less than half the weight of my mac and the battery life is extremely efficient. It just gives off different vibes.

So why write this? Well, the future draws nigh:

Lets fast forward a little bit. In April I have it on good sources Apple will venture into to untraveled seas and start selling a new category. Enter Apple Watch. Disclaimer: I don’t wear watches. I’m not really a jewelry person and I certainly wouldn’t consider myself a “flashy” individual. Yet Apple is slowly selling me on the idea of a Watch. The other day, I re-watched the Apple Watch keynote and more and more, I see it playing a big role in my future.

Part of the reason for this post is to try and work the demons out. I don’t want the watch to be another iPad incident, where I buy and return 5 of them. (eek, not proud) And i’m confidently sure my wife would appreciate an efficient transaction now and again. So I’m aiming for one or none actually.

So at this moment I plan on purchasing but I am puzzled. How can I be extremely excited about buying a watch when I don’t like wearing them? This is stunning to me! Nonetheless, here I am.

An all too familiar feeling.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my  uncertainty of iDevices as thoughts on Apple Watch permeate and release nears!

Movies

And the Oscar goes to…..

The Oscars are upon us! Film buffs and casual movie goers alike can rest assured on the night of Feb 22, awards will be distributed to good looking people wearing overly expensive clothes. All in all, the Oscars are a fun night for hardcore movie lovers or people just interested in seeing the latest fashion.

I love film and a show that celebrates the art is enough for me to be hooked. Film itself has such a huge tie in with my childhood and the Oscars always played a significant role. As a child, I loved to make predictions and see what came to be realized. Who would win and more importantly who should win. 2014 has been such a fantastic year for film. The following our my picks:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Laura Dern, Wild
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman
Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
WHO WILL WIN?
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duval, The Judge
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Edward Norton, Birdman
WHO WILL WIN?
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, Two Days, One Night
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
WHO WILL WIN?
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

BEST ACTOR
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Michael Keaton, Birdman
WHO WILL WIN?
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Bennett Miller, Foxcatcher
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game

WHO SHOULD WIN?
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
WHO WILL WIN?
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman

and the big one…..

BEST PICTURE

American Sniper
American Sniper does a superb job of shining a light on a soldier’s real battle. About the war every soldier fights, first to stay alive, then to reconcile their beliefs and illusions about their duty with the realities of war. But eventually, the soldiers fight to leave the war behind and live life again. The film continuously follows Kyle as he struggles mentally to keep himself sharp. Fellow soldiers chime in more than one occasion to voice their mental instability also, it’s a balancing beam that no regular civilian can understand yet hopefully American Sniper helps you appreciate and gain awareness of.

Birdman
A fading actor (Michael Keaton) best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected. Lindsay Duncan, Zach Galifianakis, and Edward Norton co-star in this black comedy from Biutiful director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Boyhood
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is a coming-of-age drama that the director spent twelve years making. He cast a young boy, Ellar Coltrane, and shot the film a few days at a time for over a decade so that he could capture how his leading actor, and the rest of his cast, aged. The film’s story simply follows a boy named Mason (Coltrane) as he progresses from age 6 to 18 and deals with the typical travails of childhood like his parents’ divorce, bad stepparents, falling in love, finding his artistic voice. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette co-star as Mason’s parents. Boyhood should be celebrated not only in regards to it’s great filmmaking but also it’s theatrical experience is a monumental, first time achievement in cinematic history.

Imitation Game
At its core, Imitation Game isn’t great because it portrays a genius and makes us envious of his wit and intelligence. Instead, Imitation Game wisely highlights a man struggling with his identity and communicating himself to the rest of the world. His achievements are nothing short of brilliant, but his issues are as ordinary as the anyone else’s. If nothing more, Imitation Game displays no matter how smart someone is, or how different somebody seems, he or she is not perfect. At the end of the day, Imitation Game is a deep character study that deserves to be watched not only for historical value but the inner struggles of self identity and self worth.

Selma
David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King Jr. in this historical drama set during the height of the American civil-rights movement, and depicting the marches from Selma, AL, to the state capital of Montgomery to secure voting rights for black people. Selma focuses purely on MLK’s doubt, and in that moment you start to realize how much of history is made up on the fly, even by its great men — how close to ordinary a great man can be and thus how close to greatness ordinary people always are. “Selma” knows we want the story of the icon, but it’s the crowd, and King’s place in it, that surges history forward and gives this movie it’s lasting power.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Wes Anderson heads to Europe for the first time with this Indian Paintbrush production starring Saoirse Ronan, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, and Jude Law. Gustav H., the famous concierge at a legendary hotel situated in the Alps during the 1930’s becomes the center of a farcical whirlwind of suspicion when one of his institution’s oldest and richest patrons turns up dead, and she suspiciously leaves him her most priceless work of art — a Renaissance painting of a boy with an apple. Infuriated that she left anything of value to anyone else, the woman’s greedy and nefarious heir uses all manner of underhanded and illegal tactics to pin her death on Gustav and to silence anyone who questions his objective of inheriting every penny of her estate, leaving Gustav’s trusted lobby boy Zero to clear Gustav’s name and prove that the grand lady’s killer is none other than her own son.

The Theory of Everything
James Marsh’s biopic of the scientist Stephen Hawking, The Theory of Everything, stars Eddie Redmayne as the famous figure. Enrolled as a graduate student at Cambridge, Hawking establishes himself as one of the leading minds of his generation, and begins to win the heart of Jane (Felicity Jones). After one of his earliest breakthroughs, Hawking is diagnosed with ALS, and he becomes less and less able to control his own body. With the loyal Jane at his side, he continues his work. However, as the years progress, Jane starts to feel more like a nurse than a wife, and Hawking begins to have feelings for a woman who is hired to care for him.

Whiplash
A talented young jazz drummer experiences a trial by fire when he’s recruited by a ferocious instructor whose unyielding search for perfection may lead to his undoing. For as far back as Andrew Neyman can remember, he’s been watching his father fail. Determined to make a name for himself no matter what it takes, Andrew enrolls in a prestigious east coast music conservatory where his talent quickly catches the attention of Terence Fletcher a esteemed music teacher who’s notorious for his caustic approach in the classroom. The leader of the school’s top jazz ensemble, Fletcher promptly transfers Neyman into his band, giving the ambitious young drummer a shot at true greatness. He may achieve it, too, if Neyman’s methods don’t drive him to madness first.

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Boyhood

WHO WILL WIN?

Boyhood

2014 was a fantastic year for film. We sang “everything is awesome” in The Lego movie and cried with compassion in The Fault in our Stars. We were shaken with shock in American Sniper and in awe of the reach of Interstellar. We were surprised by the heart Guardians of the Galaxy displayed and were amazed at the story telling achievements of Boyhood. We can only hope 2015 is equipped with half the art, craft and talent that 2014 has left us with.

Enjoy the Oscars!

Family

My Valentine

I met Lindsey in an odd way. I was asked to show my best friend’s wife’s sister and her friends Manhattan for a night. It’s not that I didn’t want to, I just had so much going on in my life that I felt really bogged down on time. But Jeremy was a close friend, I said “sure thing”.

It seems like basically overnight there they were, their accents and all and me showing them around NYC. It was fun, seeing how exciting they were. But Lindsey stood out to me. I immediately was drawn to her humbleness and up for anything attitude. Ive been around girls my whole life, then I worked at a salon. But speaking honestly, Lindsey didn’t seem like a girl. She seemed like a person who was content with who she was. I found that striking and personally, something I have always longed for in myself.

It wasn’t long before we were texting, texting turned into phone calls and phone calls turned into “dates” and dates ultimately turned into babies (kidding). We got married in less than a year after we first met. Odd if you are from CT, seemingly normal if you are from GA. Anyways, my family was skeptical until they all met her. That was that. They loved her.

Me and Lindsey were only married a few months before we found out she was pregnant with Mr. Liam. People generally react negatively when I tell them this. “Well, you didn’t have much freedom” etc. etc. I get that, I see where they’re coming from and their spot on. We didn’t. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. Watching Lindsey be a “mom” or more so a “caretaker” is her in her element. She has a huge heart. It’s always on display. She cares for Liam like no one else matters. And I’m ok with that, that’s validation for me.

Today I count my blessing. More specifically, the blessing that I see everyday. The blessing that I have become numb to from time to time. The blessing that continually grows in love for me. Today I can honestly say Lindsey is my best friend. She has helped me grow greatly as a person by being understanding to my downfalls. Through scary times, Lindsey is the one who rubs my back and tells me all will be ok.

I don’t know who or where I would be today without her. Sure we have struggles and sure things are hard sometimes. But is anything worthwhile easy? I doubt it. When things get hard it’s a reminder for me. I reminder to get up, work and try harder because her happiness is worth it, our life together is worth it, our future is worth it, our family is worth it. Because she is worth it.

Happy Valentine’s Day Linds, thanks for being everything you are, all the time.

Movies

The Imitation Game 9/10

Based on the biography Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges, The Imitation Game is a historical thriller that not only will engage you intellectually, but teach viewers little known facts of the well known outcome of World War II.

Following the life story of Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), who is credited with cracking the German Enigma code, The Imitation Game portrays the nail-biting race against time undertaken by Turing and his brilliant team at Britain’s top-secret code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of the Second World War.

It’s interesting to note that this film’s screenplay topped the annual Black List for best unproduced scripts in 2011 simply because it is in fact the script that propels this film. The true story alone is remarkable, but writer Graham Moore really keeps the story swift and light when handling such complicated, specific details such as Alan Turing’s machine, how it works and most complicated; how Turings mind operates.

Benedict Cumberbatch gives a superbly nuanced performance, portraying Turing with just the right amount of strangeness to make him endearing but not emotionally or intellectually unreachable. Cumberbatch brings immense talent and intelligence but not too much glamour to the socially awkward, notoriously disarranged protagonist. His nomination for best actor is validated by a clear portrayal of such a foggy, complicated man. To no surprise, Kiera Knightly is also quite good here. Bringing much lightness into an otherwise heavy film, her character rounds out Turing as human and a not the narcissist everyone perceives him to be.

At its core, Imitation Game isn’t great because it portrays a genius and makes us envious of his wit and intelligence. Instead, Imitation Game wisely highlights a man struggling with his identity and communicating himself to the rest of the world. His achievements are nothing short of brilliant, but his issues are as ordinary as the anyone else’s. If nothing more, Imitation Game displays no matter how smart someone is, or how different somebody seems, he or she is not perfect. At the end of the day, Imitation Game is a deep character study that deserves to be watched not only for historical value but the inner struggles of self identity and self worth.

There is something appealingly old fashioned about The Imitation Game, there’s no tricks or flares. It’s not dampened down with explosions or special effects. It leans on elements great movies should depend on, fantastic writing, actors who connect with their character and the audience. In many ways Imitation Game is throwback to the basics of filmmaking. It won’t make for a flashy trailer, but all the ingredients are present to combine for a fantastic journey that is infused with importance at every turn.

Do yourself a favor and see Imitation Game. Your time and attention won’t be wasted. In our present state of film, learning and being entertained simultaneously is a rare experience. Imitation Game not only offers you this but great performances and beautiful imagery as well. The Imitation Game is an astounding film and holds a righteous place as a Best Picture Nominee.