History Happens ... Occasionally

Today is a momentous day, at 7am the history channel finally played the first show remotely related to history that it has shown since Saturday though I doubt this will last and it will resume showing its usual fare.  I use to flip through the channels and land on the Discovery Channel or the History Channel and usually find something worth watching and that just doesn't seem to happen for me anymore.  Luckily, I have the internet to entertain me so I rarely surf through to see what is on TV anymore anyway.

http://mytvoptions.com/truth-in-programming.php

I remember actually being excited to watch National Geographic Explorer when I was little.  I haven't watched the show in quite a while but I am disgusted by National Geographic re-branding itself as NatGeo.  It is a ridiculous simplification of a name that use to have a positive and respectable connotation for me.

I use to get the National Geographic Kids magazine (well I think it was still called National Geographic World when I got it).  When I look at a more recent copy of National Geographic Kids I can't find the value in it anymore.  It is usually a gigantic tie in to some Disney movie that is coming and composed almost entirely of ads and product placement and little else.  It is another example of something I loved being dumbed down and commercialized to the point of being unrecognizable.

We also have the Discovery Channel ... which seems to center its programming around what involves showing explosions.  They also have the Deadliest Catch.  I really don't know what else they show because it has been a while since I have tried to watch anything on the channel.  I think my real issue is that these channels always trick me, I think that maybe there will be something good on and then am always let down by the lack of programming I have any interest in.

One would think that the History Channel would be more difficult to subvert.  After all, it has history in the name and thus the shows should probably at least involve history.  No they seem to have gotten around that inconvenience.  Every time I turn to the History Channel, I find shows either about UFOs or the apocalypse ... and Pawn Stars.  Yes Pawn Stars, that one I can't even begin to understand why it exists at all never mind why it is on the History Channel.  I know that they have their slogan of "history happens everyday" but I can't help but wish that they would focus a little more on the history that didn't happen just the other day.  There is a lot of history that could be explored that has nothing to do with Ice Road Truckers and Ax Men.  Sadly, I just saw that they have a show called Ancient Aliens and thought to myself well at least it does involve history so that actually puts it one step ahead of many of these shows preposterous as that may seem.

I went to the History Channel's website to look at the show schedule for the day.  I noted that one show was called Sliced.  I wondered what the show could be about, well apparently the name says it all and it is about slicing things.  Yep, it has the pretense of explaining how things work but does so by cutting them in half with a chainsaw.  I watched the little clip explaining the show and was baffled because of course I want to see how things work but cutting them up seems to be a poor way to achieve this.  I can understand a careful dissection of an object to see how it works, I did that all the time when I was little with broken electronics, but a chainsaw is not required.  It is just such a destructive and simplistic way of explaining how ordinary objects work.  I miss the shows that had the all knowing narrator or host.  I like to believe that the person telling me about a subject such as how an object works actually has the knowledge they are conveying and aren't like so many hosts of these shows now who like to pretend that they are learning with us and know no more on the topic than we do.

Well at least I have Frontline, podcasts, and the internet to keep me informed ... and of course my public library.

Oh Wait, I Have a Blog Don't I?

Once again I have failed to post anything in the past few weeks.  I have every intention of posting regularly on this blog but for some reason I just have a hard time doing it.  It is because I think too much about everything, every time I have an idea for a blog post I then over think it and then it never happens.  I am highly aware that once I put something online it never goes away so I am very conscious of what I post and it makes it difficult for me to commit to posting what I think or feel.

I have been having trouble expressing my thoughts through writing.  It use to be quite easy for me but in recent years not as much.  That was the whole reason I started this blog was to get back that piece of me that I lost in college.  I was that girl who wrote everyday.  I wrote short stories and poems.  Now, I haven't written a poem in years, I have many little snippets of short stories but it never seems to get anywhere.  I don't get inspired the what I was before.  I miss how I was able to be sitting somewhere one moment and then a thought would strike and I would scramble to find any writing utensil and something to write on just to jot it down before it was gone.  Now I have fewer of those epiphanies and even when I do I fail to catch many of them.

I know that sitting here and complaining won't help me find myself again.  I have simply been mired down by life after all.  I wrote a lot in high school and even at the beginning of college.  I felt more creative had more ideas.  I also had more hope then.  I didn't yet know that I would graduate with a good degree yes but into a bad economy where have a degree just makes me average and there is no company out there that wants to hire me.  I know I am fighting tooth and nail against all the other graduates out there for these non-existent jobs we were promised when we signed up to take out those loans we took upon ourselves to get to go to college.  I have tried my hardest and still find myself to be nothing more than a burden to my family and even though I try not to think about these things all the time I still know it weighs heavily on my mind whether I choose to acknowledge it or not.

I did not start writing this post with the intent of talking about these things but I let my mind go where it wanted and here I am.  I do have to address my problems and my worries and concerns if I want to be able to get past this perpetual writer's block I find myself facing.  I will keep trying to move myself forward.  This entails my constant job search yes but it also includes getting my mind back from this fog that has encompassed it.  So much of my life feels out of control but this is one place that I can improve on.  Once again I promise myself, I will write more, I will post more, and I will try to stop worrying what others will think and free myself to say what I want to without placing these artificial constraints on myself as I have been.

My Dud of a Laptop Strikes Again

I have been having some problems with my computer lately, well actually all the same old problems just worse than usual, so I decided to express my computer angst by drawing this comic instead of actually throwing it at something or smashing it against the wall.


Now, I am going to backup my computer and compose my lovely letter to Dell to to put in with my computer when I send it in for repairs so that maybe they will actually fix it.

Spring Picture Procrastination

I have been taking a lot of nature pictures recently. I think it is because I know I should be running the park but if I bring my camera and walk around taking pictures I can justify to myself not running. Yeah it's procrastination I suppose, but I have gained some beautiful spring pictures and like getting the opportunity to show them off though I should note I have also procrastinated in posting them.

I started off walking on the path beside the river. I was standing there beside the river and decided to look up. I noticed that the branch above me was gnarled and bent, constantly winding its way through the maze of other branches, a perpetual race toward the sun above.

I continued to walk alongside the river until I saw a small tree with white flowers on the other bank. I wanted to see that tree up close so I noted some landmarks and made my way back to the bridge and crossed to the other side.

I was walking alongside a low stone wall and noticed this small fern that had managed to start growing from the wall.  It is always rather amazing the places that plants manage to grow.  The seed landed there and somehow took root so that it could cling to the wall, wedging itself in the cracks.  I had a few strange looks from the passersby as I knelt by this wall and took the picture but I am getting used to seeing that look as I venture out on my picture taking expeditions.

 Well I kept walking along the path and looked for the landmarks I have noted, a dried up spring bed on my side of the river and a couple benches on the other bank.  I reached what I figured was approximately the right spot and turned onto a little footpath that lead down to the bank of the river.

Yes, there was my little tree, and a swarming mass of mosquitoes.  I snapped a few pictures.  Then, hastened by the audible hum of the legion about me, I made my way back up the bank to higher drier land.  I had my picture, though I think I swallowed in few bugs while getting it.

I continued my wandering.  The day was incredibly clear and the sky marvelously blue.  I was looking up at the power lines and happened to notice this black bird settled on the wire.  It was sitting there long enough for me to take a few pictures of it as it saw and shrieked at its neighbor sitting further down the line.  I don't know what type of birth this was, there are usually birds fluttering around this part of the path and sitting on the wire but this was the first to sit still for long enough for me to take a picture of it.

I was returning to my car when I happened to notice this seed laden tree overhead.  Mostly it was interesting because I usually find the helicopter seeds once they have reached the ground and rarely have seen them when they are still on the tree.  They have not dried and fallen but still have a blush of color as they cling to the branches.



Well, spring is well on its way to summer so I suppose these will be be my last spring pictures.  The next pictures will probably be summer ones.  Who knows when I will next fancy myself a photographer. 

Just a Test

I just set up Twitterfeed for this blog so this is a test to see if this automatically posts to my Facebook and twitter accounts...

Sherlock Holmes Movie Review

Last night I watched the 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie (not to be confused with the 2010 movie...yeah that one with the dinosaur.) I know that there are an abundance of Sherlock Holmes movie adaptations out there but but now that they have run out of movie ideas and every movie must be a remake, or based on a book or graphic novel, of course they needed to take a shot at Sherlock Holmes. I have to confess I have never read any of the Sherlock Holmes books but I do enjoy the 1984 TV series and I have listened to the audio-book versions of many of the Sherlock Holmes tales (nothing like listening to someone read to me with a British accent to help me get to sleep at night.) I do have some preconceived notions of what I want for a Sherlock Holmes movie and was pretty sure that the 2009 reboot would not live up to them, so I started watching the movie with some trepidation.

I was rewarded with an opening sequence involving Holmes busting up some magic ritual and beating people up. Not really what I wanted but exactly what I expected. I like Sherlock Holmes because of the logic, the deductive reasoning and attention to detail and while this movie did show glimmers of that mind that I love to see those were rather overshadowed by the brawling and explosions that seemed rather out of place. The set and the clothing were beautiful but other than that it was fairly generic. The movie seemed to primarily rely on Robert Downey Jr to carry it. It seemed to go with the method of it has Downey in it so people will go see it, he just needs to be himself, beat some people up, and we'll add some explosions, then everyone will go see it. I am not going to argue that this method doesn't work, I just have higher expectations.

I was really thrown by the "magic" angle throughout the film because to me magic is rather anti-Sherlock Holmes. However the the movie did redeem itself at the end with its run through of the logical explanations for the events that had occurred, which restored it greatly in my eyes because I could not accept a Sherlock Holmes movie that left magic as an acceptable explanation. Another issue with this movie, it gave me some major flashbacks to Angels & Demons. Yes, some cult-like group targets some larger group of old men but first kills people at strategic locations throughout the city for their symbolic references which the main character then sees make a cross when planned out on a map and uses this to determine the final location.

Downey's portrayal of Holmes was decent, but I was thrown by his drinking habit since Holmes was more into cocaine and morphine than alcohol but I suppose they didn't want to show that in the movie so they threw in the drinking instead as his drug of choice. The interactions between Holmes and Watson were well portrayed though I did find them a bit quick to brawl but I suppose that is to be expected in a movie intended for the masses. I really enjoyed the two scenes where Holmes deconstructs in his mind what he is going to do before he does it and then the film speeds up to real time and shows the actions. However, this was only done twice and for the most part all the information was just given to the audience with little insight into how Holmes mind was working. The movie had its action and mystery but it just didn't have the depth it needed to make it stick with you after watching it, you leave the movie much the same as you entered and it doesn't leave you anything new to think about.

Overall, the movie was OK, not quite the Sherlock Holmes we know and love but people who want action over intellect will probably think it is an improvement. I am glad I didn't pay to see it in theaters but it was a decent Netflix pick as long as you don't expect too much of it. The 1984 series is available on Netflix streaming and I am going to stick to watching that.

iPad Review...Based on my 5 Minute Joyride in the Apple Store

Image from www.readwriteweb.com


I have finally broken down and decided to do an iPad review. I also finally saw and touched one for the first time on Saturday so that might have something to do with it too. I would like to say before I start, I am not an Apple fangirl. I just want to put that out there. The only Apple product I have ever owned is my iPod.

For some reason I find Apple as a corporation unsettling. Yes they can make pretty products, but no they are not right for me and I just can't buy into it all. Apple requires a certain lifestyle which I do not have. It's nice to have a pretty product but not if it sacrifices functionality and the motto of "it just works" rubs me the wrong way. The real issue is that so much is sacrificed to make it "just work" and I would rather have function. My PC may be buggy but I can put what I want on it, I trust myself enough to not completely screw it up (and really there is nothing I can do to it a good reformat can't fix) I like having the ability to make my own mistakes. Last month, my battery was almost completely worn out so I bought a new one and I replaced it myself, let's see you do that on an Apple product.

I have digressed from the point of this post, I am supposed to be reviewing the iPad. To set the stage: I arrive at the Apple store, it is full of people and chatter, there are throngs of people crowding around the two tables devoted to the iPad. I hover near the table, pretending to play with the macbook on the adjacent table. Then someone sets down an iPad and I pounce and scoop it up before anyone else can take it. I stare at it for a moment, trying to take in all the details about this device that I have heard so much about and know that Steve Jobs has decreed I should love. The first thing I noticed was the large glossy screen...completely covered with smears and smudges from all the fingers that had fondled it before me. At this point I really just wanted to set it down and wash my hands but I restrained myself.

The next thing I noticed was the weight of the thing. It was heavy and during the time I was holding it seemed to get heavier and heavier. I wanted to be able to hold it in my left hand and manipulate it with my right but it really needed to be propped up on something. Since I was in the store and setting it on the table didn't put it in a comfortable position and I couldn't sit in a chair and prop it up on my leg, I was left to juggle it back and forth between my hands as I tried to size up the thing. I really could have used something a bit lighter and it could have been a bit smaller, the proportions of it seemed off to me when I looked at it but that is just my preference.

Well I stood there for a moment holding the iPad then thought "I should probably try to do some thing on it shouldn't I?" I looked at all the icons, awkwardly spaced on the screen, flicked it to the next screen and stared at that for a moment then continued on. I opened google earth, it was google earth, nothing earth-shattering about it. I tried to play some of the games, they were alright but given that I have played games on the iPod touch there was nothing really special their either. Then I decided to go online, and lo and behold the internet was still there just as I had last seen it on my laptop. It did browse the internet, I didn't exactly challenge it though. It was the internet, it may be a different way to get to it and I could poke at it but I wouldn't say it was “the best way to experience the web.” It was merely just another way to experience the web. I played a movie, it looked good. I looked at some pictures stored on it, the iPad can certainly function as the most expensive picture frame you will ever own. Then I decided to look at the books on it because I kept hearing all about that feature, how it will change the way I read. There were a number of books to look at and I browsed through a few of them. Yes it was fun the first few times I flipped the virtual pages but that got old fast and I like my physical books that I get to flip the pages and see my progress (and borrow from the library so I don't have to buy them from iTunes.)

At this point I had been holding the iPad for about 5 minutes...and I was bored. My curiosity was satiated and I kept flipping through the icons and thinking that I couldn't possible be this bored with this device already, but I was. The Apple employee had wandered over by then and was asking if anyone had any questions and I felt like saying no, it's a giant iPod touch so really what is there to question about it. I tried to imagine what I would do with one. Well, its not really portable enough for me to carry around with me and just pull out when I am bored in line to get my coffee or something. That leaves when I am sitting at home. I usually just carry my laptop around the house with me. I really can't remember the last time I sat down at my laptop and did one thing and one thing only. I like to multitask and the fact that the iPad can't really doesn't endear it to me. I usually watch a video or listen to a podcast as I have another internet window open, plus a document or two, and then I have pidgin running so I can instant message when the urge strikes me. I can browse the internet on the iPad but that is nothing special and having to exit out of my browser to answer an instant message from a friend would be a huge pain. I like to take pictures with my camera and edit them on my computer and the iPad doesn't have a camera of its own and I can't just plug my camera into its non-existent USB port to load the pictures I have taken onto it. I am supposed to read books on it but given that I usually read actual physical books that I borrow from the library I don't see myself rushing out to buy them from iTunes.

I can't see anything I could use the iPad for that would be productive, it really just seems to be a toy for messing around on, which is fine but they seem to want us to think that businesspeople and students and everyone can actually do work on this new shiny toy. It costs $499 at a minimum and not even that once taxes are added and the fact that to do almost any little thing on it requires buying an app. I can't justify spending that amount of money on a toy and a first generation one at that. Next year there will be a new iPad with more features and a lower price and all the people who bought this year's will feign surprise and then buy it. Apple always wants people to buy its newest and shiniest product, even the people who just barely bought it a year before, there's no upgrades, just replacements. If I am going to spend $500 on a product it better not be one that will be obsolete in a year which will be true of this first iPad, really this first iPad has a lifespan of one month, then the 3G version comes out anyway but Apple knows the fanboys will buy this first iPad and then another in a month anyway. I just don't have the financial backing to be an Apple person, you have to keep buying things because you just can't walk around with an outdated Apple product.

I think I could have fun with a tablet but not this one. The most I could think about spending on one would be around $200 and I want a computer OS, not a crippled phone OS for something that isn't a phone. I need functionality to justify what I buy and the iPad is just all frivolity and paying for the bragging rights. I do like touch, I know it is the future but I don't want it in the locked down Apple form factor. I was bored with the iPad after a few minutes and that doesn't surprise me, I had heard that it was like a giant iPod touch and that's exactly what it felt like. It met expectations but didn't surpass them on any level and that is just boring and if Apple wants me to spend then I expect better, it didn't have that wow factor I expect from a new Apple product. I expect to go to the store and play with it and realize that Steve Jobs was right and I can't live without it, but my experience with the iPad left me knowing I had my fill of the device and that I really didn't need one for any reason.

My conclusion: even if I had $500 to my name, I wouldn't be running out to spend it on the iPad. It can't replace my laptop, it's not a smartphone, a netbook can do more than it, and for me there just isn't a need for there to be yet another niche between these devices.