Month: August 2010

More social, less social

I just wanted to let you all know about the latest changes to this site.

Firstly, I removed the Latest Twits widget from the sidebar.  Somehow I am not using Twitter all that much lately.  I still love the service, but I have two problems with it.  Actually, it’s one, but I feel it in two separate ways.  Firstly, I still don’t have a good Twitter client application.   Not on my mobile, and not on my desktop.  I tried a billion of them, and I am yet to find one that suits me.  Without a proper client, I tend to forget to tweet, read other tweets, and respond.  Too bad.   Second problem is that I am annoyed by all the links that are posted in tweets these days.  Sometimes I just want to get the statuses only, to see how my friends are doing and what they are up to.  Instead I get a billion links, which I need to click, check, and follow.  As I said, I wish I could filter them out in my Twitter client, for those times when I have more time and better Internet connection.  The blog will still send the “new blog post” tweets to Twitter though, and I am still trying my best to use the service.  It’s just that judging by all the updates I do, the sidebar space can be used better.

Secondly, I added Google Reader shared items to the sidebar.  Google Reader is the application I use a lot!  And I share quite a bit of stuff.  Too bad it often goes unnoticed.  Sharing those links and articles via sidebar might give an extra bit of attention to those things that I think deserve it.  Just in case you are wondering which plugin I used – it’s Google Reader Widget by James Wilson.

Thirdly, I added some social network buttons in the upper-right corner of the website.  These are links to some of my other online profiles and also and easy way to bookmark, share, and promote either the whole website or a specific page that you liked.  The plugin that I used for this functionality is Fixed Social Buttons by Ioane.

Inception

It’s been a while since I wrote  a movie review.  This is mostly because with all the crappy films that came out recently, I lost my inspiration for a bit.  I’m glad to report that my inspiration is back on track.   How could it not be, with the film like “Inception“, which I went to see in the movies on Saturday night?

We, the non-14-years-old audience, were waiting for this or similar movie for a really long time now.  It’s everything you want from a movie and more – it’s smart, it’s engaging, it’s entertaining, it’s thought-provoking, it’s pleasant to look at, and it gives you something to talk about for days after.  I’ve heard plenty of positive reviews of this movie.  And I’m sure I haven’t heard even a tiny bit of them – currently the film is #3 in IMDB’s Top 250 films of all times.

For me personally, the movie was quite a surprise.  It is similar in different details to so many other movies, yet it is unique, standing on its own, and way better than most.  While a lot of people, of course me included, enjoyed the twisted story, I was mostly taken away by the visuals.  The combination of great visual effects and outstanding photography are break-taking.  It is on par with the bullet-time photography of “The Matrix”, adjusted for a years that pasted.  In particular – two scenes that were jaw-dropping: bending of the city, which is partially seen on the poster, and the fight in the hotel corridor.  During these two scenes I almost totally forgot what the movie was about – it looked so great, that I had a huge “Wow!” sign occupying all space inside my head.

I’ll say even more.  Do you remember when the “Avatar” movie came out?  It was great, wasn’t it?  But you had to use the 3D glasses which were annoying, and you sorta had to see the movie, because there was so much hype about it.  These two things for me were a bit offsetting.  I was expected it to be great.  I had to force myself to wear the glasses.  “Inception” on the other hand was totally unexpected, and it came in 2D (thank you whoever made that decision).  I went to see a twisted story with Leonardo DiCaprio, and I what I got out of it was so much more.

Anyways, I can talk about this movie for hours.  But I’d rather do it with people who saw it.  So, don’t miss out your chance – movies of this superb quality don’t come out that often.  Do yourself a favor and see it in the cinema.  It pretty much requires the big screen.  It’s so good that I’ll probably go see it again, and end up buying a DVD or something.

Absolutely a 5 out of 5.  Highly recommended.