I went to Heaven tonight. Surprisingly DM was playing (on a Wednesday) and DT happened to show up with him. I didn’t get to the club until 01:00am but I ended up staying until close, then made sure they didn’t get lost en route to their hotel. I haven’t talked to either of them in quite a while, so it was awesome to be able to catch up and hear what they were up to. It was actually the first time I went out anywhere since I got back from Japan so there were a lot of people who were like “where were you?!“. I didn’t really feel like getting into details about the last six months, especially since most of the things that have happened have been intangible and difficult to explain without sounding as though I suddenly discovered myself. 
I had a great time though, and the music was fantastic. I think that I miss that the most, and they both pointed it out when we were standing in the DJ booth at the end of the set, “you totally miss it don’t you…” I suppose in some ways I do, but I am quite content to have the memories and leave the nightclub business to someone else. Welcome to 05:00am. Zzz.
Life
I got my first book today. I decided to publish my photography, journal, and thoughts from my trip to Japan. The software provided by Blurb is fairly stable, although it is clearly still a beta. The quality of the book is actually really good, with the exception of the pictures were slightly dark. The book is called “Koketsu ni irazunba koji o ezu”, which basically translates to “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” It has been such a lifechanging year for me that it seemed like a perfect title.
As far as deciding to put the book together, I have to thank Lu for sending me the link to Blurb. They make it simple for anyone to design and print a book, and it is an excellent keepsake or gift. I am already working on the “2nd Edition”. I don’t know if I will make it public though. You can check out the cover, text and photographs if you’re curious, but the quality really is quite impressive considering it only cost $25.00 (plus shipping).
Life
I don’t know when Le Grand Bleu (Big Blue) was released but it was quite a while ago, and so I am pretty excited about the upcoming film, The Greater Meaning of Water. Supposedly there is a storyline somewhere in the film, but it is the underwater cinematography that is the true star of the film. The preview is visually stunning, so I can’t wait to see the full dvd. I wouldn’t say that I am an avid free diver, but I have followed the sport relatively closely since I first watched Luc Besson’s Le Grand Bleu. You may know him as either the director or producer of such films as The Fifth Element, Transporter, Unleashed, and of course, The Professional (Léon). The cast and crew of GMOW are actually former Olympic athletes, so it should be interesting to see how they handle acting. Deeper Blue has a great article on the film, and some information on free diving. I can’t wait for it to be released.
Movies
We were hit by a blizzard Friday night so we decided to go climbing Saturday. It took quite a while to get to the Adirondacks (mostly because we kept getting stuck behind the snowplows) but being able to be the first on the trail made it worthwhile. We ended up climbing to the summit of Wright Peak. I couldn’t believe the conditions near the summit. The snow was knee high, and it didn’t seem to make a difference that we were wearing snowshoes. It was so cold on the summit that we didn’t stay very long, mostly because we didn’t want to become part of the landscape. The descent was uneventful with the exception of the snowboarders who practically knocked me off the trail. They were pretty cool though so it ended up alright.
Life
Balls! isn’t too complicated, just keep the ball inside the blue box. You should make sure you have plenty of time to play because it is very addictive.
Flash
I am clearly way too preoccupied lately, as my sister has become a technophile and I didn’t notice. Anyways, D.G. and I went out and picked up a Xbox 360 HD DVD Player tonight after discovering (from my aformentioned sister) that such a device even existed. Supposedly Microsoft released it just before Christmas ‘06 but I will be the first to admit that I hadn’t heard anything about it until tonight.
The bundle included “King Kong” (which I didn’t own) so we didn’t need to get a duplicate of a film we already had, which would have been an impossible decision for me. The configuration was simple after you realize that the Xbox 360 actually has two additional USB inputs on the front of the console underneath a small panel on the right (something else I didn’t know about until tonight). The software installation was simple, and within moments we were watching the movie. You are almost instantly comparing the quality and sound to the traditional DVD format, and in all honesty we were quite surprised at the lack of differences between 1081i and 480p (original resolution). The film was more crisp and the sound was slightly improved but with the exception of certain scenes there wasn’t any visible difference.
That being said, I do believe that the fact that we don’t have a TV that is specifically designed for 1080i may have impacted the quality, but you would think that a 46″ plasma would have a high enough resolution to show a visible difference. I suppose we were expecting a visible “wow” difference as far as image quality, and it just wasn’t there. I will say that the menu navigation (in particular the fact that you can access scenes without pausing the film) is a feature that almost makes me want to keep the player.
Almost.
Technology
THIS. IS. SPARTA! We went to see 300 at IMAX today. Wow. It was the first time I saw a film on IMAX (outside of documentaries at the Musée canadien des civilisations. They had a crazy light/sound show at the beginning (instead of previews) that explained about the screen, and the sound system, and the 1 ton projector. We decided that if we ever get a theatre we’ll make sure it has the 12,000W sound system.
The film itself was remarkable. I just finished reading Thermopylae, so it was very interesting to see the story “brought to life” so to speak, and the director effectively brought Frank Miller’s graphic novel style to the big screen. While the story wasn’t exactly accurate, at least from what I read, it was still interesting to see the phalanx in reality. The battle itself was quite important though, as it helped usher in the world’s first democracy. After you see the film, you should read this article by an Ephraim Lytle, assistant professor of hellenistic history at the University of Toronto (Emphasis on reading the article AFTER you see the film, as there are some spoilers mentioned).
I imagine most people won’t care that much about the history behind the film, but that’s alright since the cinematography and fight choreography are inspiring. It appears that the first blockbuster of the “summer” is already here.
Silly Ephialtes.
Movies
The DST (while a brilliant energy saving idea by Dubya) brought sleeping to a prompt end. 
I don’t know why the “spring forward” always leaves me exhausted for a week but I just can’t seem to sleep at night. I wouldn’t exactly say that I was sleeping soundly recently but it doesn’t exactly help. I don’t know how many days there are left in the Baha’i holiday but I will be quite content when we don’t have to wake up at sunrise. I suppose it wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t awake until 4am every night.
There isn’t anything happening lately. We won’t know until April what is happening as far as location(s), the agencies don’t release their winter pricing until after Easter. So all we can do is wait. It isn’t like there still isn’t plenty of time. At least the weather is warm, which could mean that we’ll be riding before April. It would be a nice break from our *very* quiet social schedule. I don’t think I truly appreciated sacrifice until recently.
I hope we get to see 300 on IMAX this week, but D.G. has to work with her autistic kids so we may have to wait until after the weekend. It would be nice to be able to go and not have to wait in line for 1h before the movie. Zzz…
Life
I hope this game is slightly less difficult with a mouse vs. the touchpad on my MacBook.
Flash
ZoomQuilt II is one of the more impressive collaborative art projects I have seen in quite a while. If you couldn’t figure it out, you can adjust the flow of the image by adjusting the scrollbar. Just make sure you let the images load first.
Flash
