Too Absent Herald

First, you should take a look at Broke Mac Mountain.

I’m coming up on my third month of DirecTV, which means I have to choose which Movie service to keep, between Starz, HBO, or yes, Showtime. Interesting that HBO, who owns Cinemax (right?) does not include Cinemax in its package. Anyway, I’m going to go with Starz. Surprising, perhaps, but HBO’s package is really worthless, except for the signature [they produced Gus Van Sant's "ELEPHANT"]). And Starz has like 12 channels when you include the Encores.

Showtime. No. No Showtime. The Penn &Teller Show is great, but this is not the 90s. Great is so 20th century.

So it’ll be Starz, at least until the summer, when the new Season of the Wire comes out. Although… here, you can see the thinking going on… I also just got a DVD Recorder, so on the off chance that HBO shows the Season 2 shows…

Well, the Mac news (approx.) is this. The Rumor sites are coalescing around a Mac Mini and the iPod boombox coming out on Tuesday. The Mac Mini will have what is known as the “Tivo-Killer” app. which will smoothly make the box a DVR.

Apparently TIVO dragged their heels bringing Mac support online, and so Cupertino revenges. I for one find this policy of envious self-interest refreshing.

Something else I find refreshing is this example of a rumor: MacGeekery posts a conversation overheard at a little burrito place near Apple HQ. Whatever happens on Tuesday, I have to say that among my close friends, I’d include the guy who has this sense of humor:

Man 1: “I just wish it was a little bigger.”
Man 2: “You can hook it up to one of those portable TV/DVD players you know.”
Man 1: “Yeah, I know, but that really defeats the point; it’s so bulky then. And that totally blows plane flights with the cords and batteries and so on.”
Man 3: “I think it’s big enough to watch.”
Man 2: “And you’re sixteen, too. Quick, what’s the VIN on that car?!”

So the rumor-mill is buzzing, again, as Apple sent out invitations for a fun little get-together in Cupertino on Tuesday. The speculation is anything from the Mac Mini-Home entertainment system (hopeful) to the “true” video iPod.

I like the “true” adjective in advertising. It’s a subversive maneuver in that it would appear to undercut all the “other guy’s” marketing. “Why buy a Boktronic LCD TV, when you can get this Sony (2 x $$). It has “true” digital picture in Picture.

Which of course brings up another sort of technology that Gammon and I would find five minutes of bitter laughter over: The Picture in Picture Technology. The development of that technology can only be akin to making (building) a better, more potent Nyquil, ’cause the boys in Marketing say that kids are drinking it in Exurbia.

Funny, not Ha-Ha is the Eight classes of Meeting attendees.

At the mention of “classes” I am reminded of my latest non-reasoned book purchase. Non-reasoned being (just now) my way of saying I actually browsed a bookstore. When’s the last time any of the lost Templars did that? Actually, a lot of you all seem to do it with much more regularity than me. While checking on who has what translation of Aristotle, I am always struck by the books people have that are NOT remnants of things past arguing.

I can never figure out how one gets to the tipping point when making a purchase of a book (or anything?) about which one does not already have 1) encyclopaedic knowledge; or 2) a rec from a trusted fellow reader.
As an example: How does one “buy” a book on, say Film Theory? The permutations and possible caveat emptors in some “author’s” slanted POV are frightening.
At Almira Studios one time, I mentioned this to Alex. He has a number of books and, according to subject he has a number of books that “repeat”, in terms of their subject heading printed on the upper right back cover (e.g. “dentistry/magic”) for B&N drones.

I came to the conclusion that one must simply BUY one of the books (on Polynomials, Gardening, French Cooking, Citizen Kane, etc.), in order to form a baseline . . . Make a decision on how (simplistic, grandstanding, overly precious, neo-colonial) influenced the writer is, and, make your next purchase accordingly.
With my first teaching tenure coming up (Monday), I’ve had to do just this rushing with a purchase of a few books on Film and video Production. Fortunately, this is a craft, with rules and techne-ology, so no one is that badly off. The only thing you have to waatch out for is the “just shoot it, man” attitude. This is much better than, say, the books on interior design or, (saints preserve me) choosing paint colors. My favorite waste of money in this vein is the book “Intriguing Loft Styles” which is full of admittedly great spaces, but which shoul dhave as the first step- 1. Move into an apartment shaped this way… or else.

Out.

that I am sure would be used to control my actions, a la Manchurian Candidate, (if they are not already – I drove twenty miles to buy cigarettes in order to send them across state lines, so… maybe I need to start recording my thoughts).

Provided whatever government agency that udertook said control did their homework, I am helpless in the thrall of

in no particular order:

1. Gloria – Laura Branigan
2. Dancing in the Dark – Springsteen (also, a perfect accompaniment to latex painting!)
3. Anything off of KICK, or just “Listen Like Thieves”

With apologies to Martin and Whittier, I am pulling myself out of the runing for the Contest, –now up to @12,000 USD, to see who can boot XP on a Mac.

As a side note, many of the Mac sites have today, pointed out a sort of broken limerick residing in the system files of the new Intel-Macs:

Last night I got my ass handed to me, again, in Monopoly. I don’t know where the book “The Monopoly Book” came from in the smattering of my books that I still have with me, but look forward in the days ahead to a full-scale review.

Once again, I shirked the civic responsibility of holding on to the railroads. The key factor came in my scrappy unwillingness to admit defeat (bankruptcy). I suspect I was breaking the rules. What I was doing was, at the beginning of each turn, and depending on where the other player was, I would mortgage properties, and put houses on the few properties I had that were ahead of other players on the board, in the hopes of increasing revenue.

Once they had passed those areas, I would remove (demolish) the properties, and repeat the process with other properties, ahead on the board.

I’ll be hosting Super Bowl L on Marvin Gardens. Of course I’ll have to put up a church in order to get a government grant.