Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Did I Invent Cloud Computing? Or, Did I Spew Insight OmniChronologically?
Is it possible that I manifested cloud computing two years ago while I worked at an internet company?
Probably not, but I surely described it to my coworkers at the time, on a fundamental level. Truth be told, the concept was probably already in play on a larger scale. Functionally speaking, I should have googled "cloud computing" and started buying up stocks left and right.
But these types of questions usually bring me to one conclusion: the metaphor--the building block of all thought and communication--the metaphor is a thing that extends both forward and backward in time. It is my belief that life tends to make more sense with this principle in mind. I also believe that time does not exist--any more than a sheet of graph paper exists next to what it's describing. It's just a tool. A cognitive middleman. But hell, whatever.
Point is, and it is an abstract point, admittedly, but the point is--We talk about the past as much as the past talks about the future... And... Vice-versa. And our true ability for insight knows no timescale, nor time direction. Depending on which metric you follow, or which graph you are tracing or erasing with your sweaty 8th-grade fingers, that's your reference point. Simply a tool. Cause and effect, I imagine, is a very deep reflecting pool indeed!
Probably not, but I surely described it to my coworkers at the time, on a fundamental level. Truth be told, the concept was probably already in play on a larger scale. Functionally speaking, I should have googled "cloud computing" and started buying up stocks left and right.
But these types of questions usually bring me to one conclusion: the metaphor--the building block of all thought and communication--the metaphor is a thing that extends both forward and backward in time. It is my belief that life tends to make more sense with this principle in mind. I also believe that time does not exist--any more than a sheet of graph paper exists next to what it's describing. It's just a tool. A cognitive middleman. But hell, whatever.
Point is, and it is an abstract point, admittedly, but the point is--We talk about the past as much as the past talks about the future... And... Vice-versa. And our true ability for insight knows no timescale, nor time direction. Depending on which metric you follow, or which graph you are tracing or erasing with your sweaty 8th-grade fingers, that's your reference point. Simply a tool. Cause and effect, I imagine, is a very deep reflecting pool indeed!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Ragamuffin (Muffin Mix '09)
Click the file and it will play on this page.
Or download it, it'll let you do that too. Heh heh. Powered by Box.
Editor's Note: Now there are two tracks, the one on the left is less wildly compressed than the original, on the right. Which is better? Maybe there are elements of each that are better than the other. I don't know.
Dr. Matthews Offers 25 Best Films of the 2000s
The Following is a Re-Post. The Gauntlet cast. Dr. Matthews is in the House:
"It begins!
I'm probably jumping the gun a little bit since we still have two months left, but I'm a nerd and I can't wait anymore. This is my list of my favorite movies of the past ten years. This isn't meant to be an all encompassing record of the decade in movies. This is merely a list of the movies that made the biggest impact on me personally. A fair warning: I cheat...alot. I pair up movies several times and PIXAR gets an entire slot to itself. It's my list and I can do what I want. :)
So without further ado, here it is. My 25 (or more) favorite movies of the decade.
1. (tie) The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman Begins (2005)
[dir. Christopher Nolan]
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
[dir. Paul Thomas Anderson]
3. (tie) The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Chopper (2000)
[dir. Andrew Dominik]
4. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
[dir. Peter Jackson]
5. Children of Men (2006)
[dir. Alfonso Cuaron]
6. PIXAR
7. Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002)
[dir. Fernando Meirelles]
8. Adaptation (2002)
[dir. Spike Jonze]
9. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
[dir. Darren Aronofsky]
10. (tie) AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
[dir. Steven Spielberg]
11. Gosford Park (2001)
[dir. Robert Altman]
12. United 93 (2006)
[dir. Paul Greengrass]
13. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
[dir. Ang Lee]
14. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
[dir. Quentin Tarantino]
15. No Country for Old Men (2007)
[dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen]
16. (tie) The Departed (2006)
[dir. Martin Scorsese]
Mou Gaan Dou (Infernal Affairs) (2002)
[dirs. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak]
17. Kill Bill (2004/2005)
[dir. Quentin Tarantino]
18. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006)
[dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck]
19. Bully (2001)
[dir. Larry Clark]
20. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (2001)
[dir. Hayao Miyazaki]
21. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2002)
[dir. Michel Gondry]
22. Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let the Right One In) (2008)
[dir. Tomas Alfredson]
23. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
[dir. Wes Anderson]
24. Fa Yeung Nin Wa (In the Mood for Love) (2000)
[dir. Wong Kar Wai]
25. Knocked Up (2007)
[dir. Judd Apatow]
10 More Just Because...
(in alphabetical order)
Almost Famous (2000) [dir. Cameron Crowe]
Auf der Anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven) (2007) [dir. Fatih Akin]
Munich (2005) [dir. Steven Spielberg]
The Proposition (2005) [dir. John Hillcoat]
Punch Drunk Love (2002) [dir. Paul Thomas Anderson]
Sideways (2004) [dir. Alexander Payne]
Spider-Man 2 (2004) [dir. Sam Raimi]
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) [dirs. Nick Park & Steve Box]
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) [dir. Spike Jonze]
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) [dir. Alfonso Cuaron]"
-Dr. Matthews
Class Dismissed
"It begins!
I'm probably jumping the gun a little bit since we still have two months left, but I'm a nerd and I can't wait anymore. This is my list of my favorite movies of the past ten years. This isn't meant to be an all encompassing record of the decade in movies. This is merely a list of the movies that made the biggest impact on me personally. A fair warning: I cheat...alot. I pair up movies several times and PIXAR gets an entire slot to itself. It's my list and I can do what I want. :)
So without further ado, here it is. My 25 (or more) favorite movies of the decade.
1. (tie) The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman Begins (2005)
[dir. Christopher Nolan]
2. There Will Be Blood (2007)
[dir. Paul Thomas Anderson]
3. (tie) The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Chopper (2000)
[dir. Andrew Dominik]
4. The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)
[dir. Peter Jackson]
5. Children of Men (2006)
[dir. Alfonso Cuaron]
6. PIXAR
7. Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002)
[dir. Fernando Meirelles]
8. Adaptation (2002)
[dir. Spike Jonze]
9. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
[dir. Darren Aronofsky]
10. (tie) AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Minority Report (2002)
[dir. Steven Spielberg]
11. Gosford Park (2001)
[dir. Robert Altman]
12. United 93 (2006)
[dir. Paul Greengrass]
13. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
[dir. Ang Lee]
14. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
[dir. Quentin Tarantino]
15. No Country for Old Men (2007)
[dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen]
16. (tie) The Departed (2006)
[dir. Martin Scorsese]
Mou Gaan Dou (Infernal Affairs) (2002)
[dirs. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak]
17. Kill Bill (2004/2005)
[dir. Quentin Tarantino]
18. Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006)
[dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck]
19. Bully (2001)
[dir. Larry Clark]
20. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away) (2001)
[dir. Hayao Miyazaki]
21. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2002)
[dir. Michel Gondry]
22. Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let the Right One In) (2008)
[dir. Tomas Alfredson]
23. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
[dir. Wes Anderson]
24. Fa Yeung Nin Wa (In the Mood for Love) (2000)
[dir. Wong Kar Wai]
25. Knocked Up (2007)
[dir. Judd Apatow]
10 More Just Because...
(in alphabetical order)
Almost Famous (2000) [dir. Cameron Crowe]
Auf der Anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven) (2007) [dir. Fatih Akin]
Munich (2005) [dir. Steven Spielberg]
The Proposition (2005) [dir. John Hillcoat]
Punch Drunk Love (2002) [dir. Paul Thomas Anderson]
Sideways (2004) [dir. Alexander Payne]
Spider-Man 2 (2004) [dir. Sam Raimi]
Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) [dirs. Nick Park & Steve Box]
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) [dir. Spike Jonze]
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001) [dir. Alfonso Cuaron]"
-Dr. Matthews
Class Dismissed
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)