I’m getting the screen replaced again today on my laptop. The last few times it’s happened, (I’ve been very unlucky with screens on my MacBook Pro), I’ve been able to get the engineers to come out to the office and replace it onsite. It’s a very handy thing knowing the engineers that Apple send out.
Unfortunately, today things are a little different. The engineers are so busy at the moment that they have to take my laptop off site. I’ve been promised I’ll have it back today, but I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to cope not having access to a computer.
Anyway, he’s standing over my shoulder waiting on me to finish writing this so I’ve gotta go.
I went into this movie with high expectations. So many people were singing its praise’s, so many reviewers were calling it a masterpiece, that those high expectations filled me with a small amount of dread. So much so, that as the title credits were running I said a small prayer to the Movie Gods – “Please don’t let it suck!”
“The Wrestler”, by Darren Aronofsky, is the story of Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), a former professional wrestler, as he struggles through life in the independent wrestling circuit. A star in the 80’s, “The Ram” now wrestles in small town convention centres barely able to make ends meet, when he is given the opportunity to his one time rival, The Ayatollah, and possibly take one last shot at a return to the big time.
Outside the ring his life is in tatters. He’s living in a trailer, where he frequently struggles to make the rent, working a job in a supermarket warehouse during the week, estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood), and with no friends other than an ageing stripper, Cassidy, that he has romantic feelings towards, (Marisa Tomei). As the film progresses it becomes clear that the only thing in Randy’s life is wrestling. In the ring he has respect from his peers, and is loved by his fans, outside of the ring he is dismissed, and alone. This dichotomy between these two aspects of his life is the driving force behind the movie, and creates many powerful and emotional moments.
The performances by all the actors, especially Rourke, feel so genuine and are so solid, that you completely believe the choices the characters make throughout the movie. With each action, and each decision the characters make, you understand their motivation for making and carrying through with the decisions, even though it is clearly a bad idea. It’s because of the quality of the actors performances that there are some genuinely heartbreaking moments in this movie, and moments that allow you to completely identify with each character.
“The Wrestler” is a tale of fading fame and lost glory, and the cost of trying to hold onto them both. It is a beautiful and tragic film that deserves all the plaudits it has been receiving. I honestly believe this is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, and encourage everyone to seek it out.
Rating: 5/5
Next Up: Edward Zwick’s Defiance
Yesterday I signed up for CloudCamp Scotland, on the 25th March. I had intended to go to one of these down in London with Lance, but never really got around to it. Now that there is one in Edinburgh it makes it easier for me to attend the event, and hopefully events in the future.
So what is CloudCamp? Well, in their own words:
It’s free and it’s an unconference where early adopters and industry leaders of Cloud Computing technologies exchange ideas. With the rapid change occurring in the industry, we need a place we can meet to share our experiences, challenges and solutions. At CloudCamp, you have the opportunity to share your thoughts in several open discussions, as we strive for the advancement of Cloud Computing. End users, IT professionals and vendors are all encouraged to participate.
I’ve started to really look into Cloud Computing, and various Cloud based solutions, and I plan on introducing it into the system infrastructure at work, as well as at some of my own projects. It’s something I’d tinkered with a little, and learned a lot more about when Lance founded enVirtua, (Give Lance a call/email if your interested in using Cloud computing in your business, or his fantastic Cloud-Based Backup Service).
My hope is that in attending CloudCamp I’ll learn a great deal more about the technology from people who actively use it, and are passionate about it. Plus there is the bonus of meeting other people in the Edinburgh Tech Community, which is always fun.
I’m delighted that America now have their 44th President, Barack Obama, safely in office. I’m a huge fan of Obama’s and like a great many people, believe he is the man to take America forward, and help repair the damage caused by the Bush administration over the last 8 years. I loved his inauguration speech yesterday. It was a restrained, and a speech that had a very clear and realistic view of where America stood, and what it needed to do to move forward. It was exactly the type of speech that was required, and was, as always, fantastically delivered.
Not everything went according to plan. The botching of the Oath of Office was a moment that should never have happened. From my very limited understanding of the subject, the Constitution requires the Oath to be spoken exactly the same way by each President. That may not be exactly correct, but it’s something along those lines. Which makes me wonder…. what the hell were they doing up there?
Regardless of that messy moment, Barack Obama is the President of the United States and it seems like he’s had a busy first day. He’s already suspended several military trials of suspects held in Guantanamo Bay, issued Executive Orders on government transparency and ethics, and it’s also been reported that he has spoken with several Eastern Leaders today, in the first step of trying to build an Arab-Israeli peace. That’s something that is a long way down the line, but I’m glad President Obama has realised it’s something that must actively be engaged in, and has made those initial steps in his first day of office.
This first day speaks volumes about the kind of President he plans to be. It looks as though he wants to make government more open, more accountable, and more for the people over corporations. All of which he said he would do, but most people had doubts it would actually be achievable when he took power. It is only day one in, so we shouldn’t get carried away. He has four years, hopefully eight, to prove that he was the right person for the job and to salvage the American reputation around the world.
I wish him luck, and will be watching his progress with great interest.
UPDATE: It would appear that Obama has taken the Oath of Office a second time, after the the mishap during the Inauguration. Report via Bloomberg.com
Danny Boyle’s latest film “Slumdog Millionaire” is the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a young man from the slums of Mumbai, who is one question away from winning 20 million rupees on India’s version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” When the show breaks for the evening Jamal is arrested and accused of cheating; how could a Mumbai Slumdog know all of the answers? In a bid to prove his innocence Jamal tells the brutal story of his life, growing up with his brother, Salim (Madhur Mittal), and losing the girl he loved, Latika (Frieda Pinto).
The film opens in disturbing fashion, as Jamal is brutally tortured by police in an effort to make him confess to cheating on the game show. Which only brings the response, “I knew the answers”. The story then weaves flashbacks of Jamal’s life growing up as he talks with the Police Inspector (Irrfan Khan), with questions asked by the patronising host, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
During these flashbacks the film explodes with colour and music, showing the slums of Mumbai as a glorious but desolate place, where everyone struggles each day to survive by any means necessary. Though the film is awash in suffering and loss, it injects wonderful moments of humour, such as when the young Jamal and Salim become unofficial tour guides, to the Taj Mahal, or when an older Jamal finds himself working in a call centre, and ends up dealing with a Scottish caller.
As Jamal and Salim grow older they take greatly divergent paths in life. Both use petty crime to survive on the streets, but as Jamal turns his life to legitimate forms of work, Salim’s criminal lifestyle escalates, leading to one of the most brutally intense and shocking moments in the film. It’s this moment that leads to a dramatic change in their relationship, and is a pivotal moment in the path both young men take.
I knew very little about this movie going in, other than the basic premise, and I think I enjoyed it more because of that. Various actors play the three main characters as they grow up in the flashbacks, and each actor does a fantastic job, but it is Patel who grips you with his portrayal of a defiant, yet naive Jamal. The movie has moments that will shock you, moments that will sadden you, but in the end leaves you with a smile on your face. Ultimately this is a movie about love, and hope, and holding onto them against overwhelming odds. It’s a compelling, charming story that I highly recommend you seek out.
Rating: 4.5/5
Up next in Off To The Movies is Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler“
I love my Macbook Pro. Love it, love it, love it! It’s one of the first generation MBP’s and It’s been a creative, and technical wonder for me these last few years. I do have one major issue with it. The Screen.
It’s not that it looks bad, or that it’s a poor quality, It looks great and is excellent quality. It’s that I’ve had to replace the fucking thing twice already. I’m currently on my third screen for it and I need to get it replaced AGAIN. The first time it lasted about a year and then all of a sudden these circular white marks appeared in the centre of the screen. I was informed it was because of the Apple logo on the lid of the mac. There are circular pads between it and the screen that were pressing against the back of the screen, causing the marks. So screen number two was fitted and I carried on as normal.
Within six to eight months the white marks started showing up again. I lived with it for a while and then finally had enough. My AppleCare was still in effect, so about four or five months ago I logged the fault with Apple and the engineer we use for all our work Macs came out and replaced it again.
This time I was extra careful to avoid adding any extra pressure, or strain to the lid. I was determined to avoid the annoying circular marks again. All the extra attention seems to have paid off. There are no white marks, from that point of view the screen is fine.
What isn’t fine is the dead pixel clusters that have started appearing over the screen. At first it was one or two in places that didn’t really bother me. Then they started appearing in other more prominent places. Now every time I do any photo editing, or writing I can see a bunch of them staring at me. It’s gotten to a point where I notice them no matter what I’m doing, even if it’s in another part of the screen.
It’s driving me crazy!
So today I called our Mac Maintenance guys, who are official Apple retailers, and so they would be the guys I’d end up calling after spending twenty minutes on the phone to Apple logging the fault. I’ve sent them photo’s of the screen, showing the dead pixels as well as I can, and hopefully they’re going to come back to me saying it’s covered by my AppleCare, which runs out in a few months but has been the best investment I’ve ever made.
I can’t believe how bad my luck with them has been. I love my Macbook Pro, but these screens are killing me!
