Category: Links

Links, Movies

M. Night & Characters

Some really great thoughts here on M. Night Shyamalan’s characters by Alexander Huls at Movie Mezzanine:

Before the collapse of his career, the continual repetition of narratives about men falling from on high to struggle with failure seemed no more than one of Shyamalan’s many thematic preoccupations. Now one can’t help but see something prophetic, or at least unconscious, being expressed.

At the end of Unbreakable, Elijah rhetorically asks, “Do you know what the scariest thing is?” Then he answers, “To not know your place in the world.” Ever since his career collapsed with Lady in the Water, M. Night Shyamalan lost his place in the cinematic world. Maybe with time he, like his heroes, will find it again.

Read the rest here

Links, Technology

Apple Watch saves life

OK, this is kind of amazing:

Dr. Houle told ABC News: “If it wasn’t for the Apple Watch to alert him to the fact that there was a problem, he probably would have just gone back to bed. He would have showed up for practice the next day and would have been one of the kids you read about every fall, who drops dead on the football field.”

Read the full story here

Also pretty cool to note that Tim Cook called Paul Houle Jr. personally and offered him a summer internship at Apple.

We laugh at Apple all the time about them calling thier products “Magical”. But i’m pretty sure at this moment, Paul Houle jr’s parents would say “Magical” is an understatement.

Links

Letter to my younger self

Awesome stuff written by tennis great, Pete Sampras:

Talk about it. I know, you’re introverted and reserved. But this one’s too big for you to take on alone. If you don’t talk about it, it’ll build up inside and come boiling over in one big rush of emotion during the quarterfinals against Jim Courier, and you’ll break down and cry right there on the court.

Links

Great article by John Gruber over at Daring Fireball regarding Apple Watch. He compares the “need” for the Watch to the initial “need” of the iPad. Really well done stuff and in my opinion needed. So many people are tripping over themselves wondering “What do I need a Apple Watch for?” The answer is simple, you don’t.

The right question is simply “Do you want one?”

It’s about desire, not necessity. Convenience, fun, and style are not needs. They’re wants. And people will gladly pay for what they want. The iPad faced similar misguided criticism. How many times did you hear or read someone say of the iPad, “Why would anyone who already has a phone and a laptop need an iPad?” That was the wrong question, because almost no one needed an iPad. The right question was “Why would someone who has a phone and laptop also want an iPad?”

Read the rest of John’s thought here: http://daringfireball.net/2015/04/watch_apple_watch

Links

Writing w/ Purpose

Mike Alford on writing:

So here I am, writing about the things that are interesting to me and neglecting the things that aren’t. If because of this, I never make it ‘big’ whatever that means, I have decided I’m ok with it.

I echo what Mike is saying. When you have a blog and (some) audience, I personally have felt a tug to start posting things that may be more relevant to the reader then to myself. But the truth, that was hindering me to write.

Check out Mike’s post here. I think he expressed many thoughts and concerns writer’s have. It’s very straight forward and honest. Like a great writer needs to be.

Links

From Cancer to iPhone

Great post by Federico Viticci from Mac Stories, on how the iPhone is helping him recover from stage 4 cancer and live a healthier life:

“It’s strange to think that three years ago I was stuck in a hospital bed and now part of my plan is to track the food I eat with an app. But such is life and I immensely appreciate the fact that I’m having fun getting back in shape and doing what I haven’t done in a long time. I find it profound that we can improve our lives using technology, and, no matter how much time I’ll end up having, I’ll try to make my journey about enjoying life.”

Well worth your time to read