Already...

Sigh. Missed a day already. But at least I'm expressing regret and, instead of ignoring the problem, dealing with it. Half the battle. Or at least I hope so...

Yesterday's absence comes with a reason, however. I went with Josh R. to the new Best Buy in Sherman Oaks, to look at HDTVs.

Now Hutson, you say, Isn't Best Buy another corporate Big Box with crappy selections and high prices? Well yes, dear reader, it is. But it is also the only place you can really see big electronics in person, and with something like a TV, you'd better believe I am going to see it before buying. Besides, this Best Buy has (in a single week!) already developed a reputation as a big store with a wonderful selection, so it seemed a good place to go.

Long story short, I fell in love. Walked right in and saw the best HDTV I have seen yet, playing one of my favorite movies, Batman Begins. A sign from heaven, confirmed when it then switched to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Samsung LN-T4665F!

This TV has, without a doubt, the best HD image I have seen in a consumer model. Amazing blacks, very crisp images, 1080p capable, amazing color fidelity. In fact, I haven't seen any flatscreen at all that compares. And seeing as I look at this stuff every day, I like to think I have an informed opinion.

This is the set to get. It's a great value, and a simply remarkable picture. I will be getting one soon... I promised Tracy it'd be this "winter," so as soon as we hit the equinox, I am there!

Amazon is offering a deal right now, and I can't recommend this TV enough. If you can, go see it, and prepare to be amazed.

iPod, Therefore iPhone

Big day for the Apple Faithful!

Steve Jobs updated the iPod Shuffle (new colors, same storage/price), the iPod Nano (new colors to match shuffle, new storage, new form factor, new OS), the iPod Classic (né iPod) (IMMENSE storage update, new form factor, new OS), introduced the all-new iPod Touch (iPhone sans phone, camera, weather/stock/maps widgets), and unveiled the iTunes WiFi store, where you can buy songs over WiFi with the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

But the big deal, to me, is that they dropped the price of the 8 gig iPhone to $399.

Here's my story. For years, now, I've said I want two things: a widescreen iPod for videos, and a high-storage iPod for my entire library. Including songs and videos (and a growing number of podcasts), I'm looking at 130 gigs of material... no small feat. And I always assumed they'd be the same device. iPhone comes out, and I think "Cool, when they make a hard drive version without the phone, I'll get that as the new iPod." Figured I'd be set.

Then Apple went and confounded me by making these items two separate iPods. If I want widescreen, I need an iPod Touch. If I want space, I need an iPod Classic.

I see Apple's reasoning-- they need battery power and small space requirements for the Touch, which means flash storage. And maintaining the Classic line allows for the high-storage models to be available, which Apple can't yet replace with flash. Plus, they get an added benefit of maintaining a "premium" status with the MultiTouch interface, which is good for it's own tech cachet. So two devices it is.

Another benefit to Apple in this circumstance applies directly to me. Now that the Touch offers only 8 GB and 16 GB, an iPhone is only a little smaller and a little more expensive, for phone functionality. So people can be seriously tempted to get the Phone, and help build Apple's marketshare in that new market. If they don't, they are still buying an iPod, and Apple wins.

Looking at my usage, I realize something. Since getting my laptop 10 (!) months ago, I have used iPods less and less. The shuffle I got in March gets more use than my 5G (60 GB) iPod. Because when I do most of music listening, I have my laptop, which has all of my music anyway. So now, do I want Touch controls enough to carry an iPod as well as a phone? Well, no-- the internet functionality I need is limited to WiFi, and I usually have my laptop in the office, so I don't need that. I don't want to buy an iPod touch just to have a phone in my pocket too. COnvergence is suddenly seeming more and more appropriate...

So you got me, Apple. Looks like, at your new lower price, I may have to buy an iPhone. I'm going to wait a few weeks, and think about it, but I'm feeling the winds of change a blowin' my way.

Bastards.

Nine Months In...

Hello All-

Here's a little experiment. We're here in the Month of September. I've had this blog rolling for, technically, 8 full months now, and I have something like 10 posts.

WEAK.

So here, in the (formerly 7th) 9th month of the year, I make a firm attempt.

I will post every day of September, from this point forward.

Aiding me, I have a new tool: MarsEdit.

Basically, it's a blogging application I can do all of my composing, tagging, and posting through. I'm fairly optimistic that, with this app, I'll be posting more frequently, and with a higher level of quality.

Was the Blogger Dashboard that complex or annoying? No, but the step of going through a web interface slowed me down. On the one hand, going through a browser portal isn't a dedicated act: I can quit Safari and lose work, or get distracted into other webpages. It doesn't feel as "official." On the other hand, the act of logging in and navigating to the "Compose" page takes several clicks and entries; with MarsEdit, I launch an app and go.

So, we'll see if the psychological game pays off. As I've stated before (in person, if not on this blog per se), I want this to be a true window into my life, a real tool for friends and family, as well as myself, to be able to use for communication/getting informed.

Stay on my ass. E-mail me. Post comments.

I need your help to do this.

;-)

Kubrick

Here's an interesting article (linked from Daring Fireball about filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. Worth a read.

http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1177734,00.html

Photoshop

I got this from a link at AppleGeeks, and it was pretty incredible.

http://www.iwanexstudio.com/

Go to the "Portfolio" section and start clicking the thumbnails... rollover the resulting image for the original...

Some observations:

• As a colorist, I can't help but notice that they're adding a lot of yellow to everyone's faces. It's always the Magic Hour for stars...


• One of my favorites is the guy in the bottom middle. His picture is of a teen heart-throb... while the original is a former teen heart-throb with a seven year-old kid. They shaved several years off of him. But as they say, it's not the years, it's the mileage...


• Also looking through my professional eyes, they're using the oldest trick in the book to sell these retouches: blow out the image. Just like cinematographers used to overexpose women, and defocus them, to hide wrinkles and blemishes, all of these photos get severely brightened. They're smoothing out in Photoshop, too, and cleaning up the skin, but this is helping them make it seem more "real."


• She actually looks normal, but because of the touchup, now the girl on the bottom-right corner looks like she's had a stroke in the original.


• Top row, second from the right: this time, it's the mileage they pulled off.


• Eva Longoria's (bottom row, 5 from the middle) pic is pretty drastic. Look at the folds of the sheet... you can see artifacts of the original when you A/B the images. Also, they cleaned up a stray crease on the pillow. Leave no stone unturned...


• After looking at all of these, I can say with assurance: my skin isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was.

Suck

*EDIT*

I may be adding to this all day, depending on what I read. Nikki Finke has an interesting post with info on the HD-DVD payout to Paramount/Dreamworks for this commitment. This shit makes me sick, but I am not the least surprised.

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/desperation-move-cash-grab-or-intensified-blu-rayhd-dvd-format-war/


It's also worth pointing out that there is a HUGE conspiracy theory as to Microsoft backing HD-DVD solely to prolong the format war, so as to let digital downloads take over the market. True or not, do any of you have a hard time believing it? I thought not.


*ORIGINAL POST*

http://www.viacom.com/NEWS/NewsText.aspx?RID=1042073

This news makes me sad today. Just as the next-generation HD Disc format war was giving signs of ending, Paramount/Dreamworks has to go and muck it up.

My stance is this: maybe Blu-Ray Disc is better tech, maybe HD-DVD (I tend to think BR is for a whole host of reasons). But regardless, the format war is BAD. It stops general adoption. It stops studios from investing in real quality releases. All it does is push back the day I watch all my movies in high definition. Universal was, until today, the *only* HD-DVD exclusive studio. Now there are 2 with Paramount/Dreamworks in the mix. That leaves us with 5 for BD (Disney, Fox, Sony, MGM, Lionsgate), of which 3 are majors, and 1 format-neutral company (Warner Bros). New Line may go neutral as a subsidiary of WB, but who knows.

Paramount's decision is theirs to make. They may've seen some features in HD-DVD that seemed better than BD, but I doubt it. With BD 1.1 spec two months away (with all BD-Java and PiP features), and BD 2.0 maybe 6 months away, BD will be extraordinarily capable by next summer. HD-DVD has a lot of that now, but the sales figures have been supporting an approx. 3:1 sales ratio in favor of BD (see The DigitalBits for more info), dropping BD completely seems rash.

Two days ago I was telling friends that Sony probably has a team of engineers working on replicating Universal's needs on a BD system, and as soon as they had it, Uni would probably go neutral. Today I find a studio made a switch in the *opposite* direction.

I'm at the point: I don't care what format wins. I DON'T CARE.

I just want a winner AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

A final side note: if you read through the press release, there's an interesting note:

Today's announcement does not include films directed by Steven Spielberg as his films are not exclusive to either format.

Makes me wonder what The Beard thinks of all of this. With his first film due for BD release in October (Close Encounters), it seems he doesn't have a preference. Universal announced a bunch of his films in HD-DVD at one point, but then recanted. I must say, I'd love to see influencial filmmakers call out the studio execs and hardware manufacturers and tell them to pick a format ASAP. Not that I think it'd make a difference, but one can dream...

YES!

On August 9th, 1974, my mother got a surprise birthday present: Richard Nixon resigned.

This morning, I got a similar bithday present, albeit a day late:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/13/washington/13cnd-rove.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

All I have to say is, this is seven years too late as far as I'm concerned, and that the lack of any criminal repercussions is disheartening yet wholly expected.

Favorite quote from the article: "Mr. Rove was not only the chief architect of Mr. Bush’s political campaigns but also the midwife of the president’s political persona itself."

No Comment

Here's a NYT article about possible causes for the Minnesota bridge collapse. I only bring it up because they seem to be zeroing in (although not conclusively yet) on parts there from installation, and which all bridges of this design have.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/09/us/09bridge.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Fascinating...

Linked from Daring Fireball, here's an in-depth interview with the head of the TSA. There's no pandering going on here; Bruce Schneider, the interviewer, digs in and doesn't apologize. He isn't mean or rude or furthering an agenda-- he's just taking the topic serious. Worth a read

http://www.schneier.com/interview-hawley.html

Sigh...

Why is it that as soon as a block of time is planned out, it feels as if you've already moved past it? I say this specifically in relationship to summer... you start getting close to the end, you figure out what you're going to do, and then, as far as you're concerned, it's over. I started thinking about this because today, we planned out the rest of the summer's schedule here at work, as it's going to be busy.

So it's officially fall over here as a result of that.

Sigh.

I haven't posted as much as I intended to recently... sorry about that. Laziness mixed with some work on a project soon-to-be-revealed have stopped my efforts to keep this regular.
Any of you linking here from my MySpace page, welcome! I certainly post here more often that I do myspace; last night's updates notwithstanding, I pretty much never go there. But please, comment here anytime you want, I pay much more attention.

Hope all is well with you, my dear readers. Until next time, enjoy the summer.

While it lasts...

It's a Boy!!!

Well, we knew it was a boy from the beginning, but he has arrived. Early Monday morning, at about 1:30 am, little Ashby Samuel Hayward was born in Brunswick, Maine, making his BirthDay July 2, 2007. Both of my parents (now grandparents!) were with Caitlin for the 12 hour labor, and Ian was out in the waiting room. Alas, Tracy and I are still stuck on the West Coast, but we'll be going home soon to both see the family and meet the newest addition.

Been A While

So, the months of May and June have zipped right past, and I didn't post once. I got back into the old habit of "waiting until I had time to do it right." Drat! Exactly the mindset I'm trying to overcome.

Well, it's been busy. Pounding through projects at work, as well as trying to get some personal projects rolling, and others wrapped. ATF, the short film I've been editing, is picture locked, and now we're starting the finishing stages. Trying to get out and take pictures, but it's been harder, as I've been pretty tired lately.

On family note, my sister is about *this* close to having her baby. She's got a couple of name ideas, some of which are totally awesome, but she's waiting until the meets the lil' bloke before she nails it down. A good idea, in my eyes, as that's what my folks did with me. I was "The Baby" for several days before they settled on Samuel Hutson.

Well, it's getting late, and Tracy and I are going out tonight, trying a new sushi place down the street. Wish us luck, we're hoping it's awesome...