Kimputer's Weblog

UK doctors have begun reporting incidences of iPod Finger, a repetitive strain injury caused by constant manipulation of the iPod scroll wheel or buttons.

The British Chiropractic Association (BCA) says the condition could soon be as commonplace in the UK as it is in the US where some users have lost the full use of their thumb.

(source: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/81056/doctors-diagnose-ipod-fingers.html )

That’s why I have an iRiver. No scratches on the screen either. No cracked LCD. No whining about battery life. And most importantly, it’s not ugly white either !

The first regular to be axed this season, probably after the ratings downfall after the timeslot change. Pairing J.J. Abrams series on the Wednesday night was quite a success, but somehow this year they decided it was time to unpair it. With ratings down, they decide to cut this one lose.
Too bad. It has been a consistently performing series with evenly consistent high grade writing. Every season continued, or introduced a new intrigue, giving every year a different feel. This year was the introduction to a handful of new characters, making it almost feel like season 1. Quality wise, it’s till high, but it’s not the highest one would hope.
With no real hope for the arch-enemies of the past seasons and most of the creativity moving over to Lost, maybe an end isn’t that bad.

The race for the Tri-Wizard Cup is good for third week at the top of the box office, with Harry Potter earning another $20.5 million. With a total of $229.8 million in week 3, its magic power proves strong than the previous movies (for now).
At number 2, we have Charlize Theron playing a super heroin in Aeon Flux. More of a bomb than a flux, it earns only $13.1 million (on a $60 million budget).
Three left-over round out the top five, respectively Walk the Line with $10 million, Yours, Mine & Ours with $8.4 million and Just Friends with $5.9 million.

Typical indie drama (as most movies distribbed by Focus Features are), with some political thriller plot twisted around it. While the acting part is up to par for this kind of movies, the story can sometimes feel tedious. The director tries his way to keep it as realistic, human, and poetic as possible, and the thrill factor has to suffer because of this. The pace as a result, is a bit on the slow side, then again, a big pie cut of the budget was used for the director’s favorite Discovery Channel like helicopter fly-by scenes. There’s a lot to be said about this style, as it works on some level, but as a whole, this movie doesn’t really stand out (definitely don’t go if you’re feeling a bit tired).7.

Sometimes, with non-descriptive titles (like the last one, Proof), you just go see it and wait for the surprise. This time, the surprise never came (unlike in Proof). Very loosely based on the life of Domino Harvey, we get to see her as a bounty hunter, while another story unfolds in the background. Inconsistently told, on screen it’s all Tony Scott on speed. Super-high-speed cutting with his favorite hand-cranked high-low speed shots are all over the place (while it was still manageable on Man on Fire, it’s getting a bit irritating here). To be honest, even if the story was consistently told, I think it would still have been boring. The screen writer thinks a few lines are enough the describe Domino’s character (which is not), and that makes her pretty one dimensional. Luckily, Kiera gets a few microseconds of full top nudity (totally unnecessary, but probably there so the male fans will buy the DVD for pausing action), otherwise I’d demand my money back (which is impossible, since I technically didn’t pay).5½.

Magic power at works at the top of the box office, as the mediocre Goblet of Fire chapter of Harry Potter takes in another $54.9 million (total at $201.1 million).
Second was Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash biopic cashes in another $19.7 million (total at $54.7 million). Third was new family comedy Yours, Mine & Ours. Starring Dennis Quaid, it’s good for $17.5 million. Chicken Little still shrinking, this week with$12.4 million (total at $118.2 million).
Rounding out the top 5 is Broadway adaptation Rent, woth $10.7 million.

Oh, by the way, who needs downloading when you can go to the movies all you want ? The Pathe Unlimited incentive (17.50 will buy you a whole month of unlimited access) sounds like a success to begin with. And to support it, I got myself one of those. For the mathematicians among you, break even point is 4 times or more a month. (edit 29-11-2005: Ai, I’m not quite the mathematician myself, break even is actually already at 3 or even 2 times (3 x 6 or 2 x 8.75 depending on how you buy your tickets))

One of the last movies coming from the Weinstein brothers under the Miramax banner, who over the years mixed big budget movies with low budget dramas. This is of course one of the last category, with less than a handful of characters playing out a story. Good narrative style combined with a solid drama script delivers a psychic punch. The acting is up to par (all the way to the suggested Oscar noms. Say hello to ms. Paltrow), even though the startup seemed to cut the dialogue into a high speed speech contest (which later on wasn’t so apparent any more, luckily).7½.

Hardware failures… it’s so inherent to technology, so my trusty old server had to have at least a few of those. Yesterday was the hard drive’s turn (actually, it began a few weeks earlier, but I found ways around it). Anyways, new hard drive, put in some more memory while I was at it. And if I’m correct, everything is back to the way it was.
Coz, you know, you have those people advising other people to backup once in a while, and when push comes to shove, those people themselves didn’t backup their stuff. As you can see, I’m not one of those people. Lucky you, all this bullshit of mine is still online.

Rate 1 (FR#^&% MESS !) to 5 (how very tidy !). Only rate the latest picture, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 1300 out of 423 votes > Average is: 3.073

Just got this Powerball Green Light with Digital Counter. Worked my ass off for a 9822 record, accidentally deleted that. And now I’m to tired to get passed 9100. Worse still, can I still Counter-Strike with tired (but RSI-free !) arms ?

A new ad campaign has started to raise more awareness concerning being an organ donor. I myself don’t care too much about those wrong assumptions, as I filled in the registration without any thoughts, ticking the box at the highest level. My motto is after all, use what ever you can use, and heat up the oven ! (Actually, that’s a little bit crude, as being the highest level donor means you might end up living another lifetime in the corridors of a university hospital. I myself carved up some decade old corpses during my Med year.)
But as a good deed, AND mostly because those pictures combining the facts are quite humorous, take a look at this website.

With all the new series reviewed, it’s time to get back to the regulars. And why not begin with the Nielsen ratings king, and well deservedly so. Still at the top every week, with some 10 point ratings and a 25 share, there’s no question about it.
Since last season’s finale (probably everyone’s favorite to this date), Tarantino’s legacy lives on. His fabulous setup, with some dark personal drama, carries over to this season, with some nice storylines branching off naturally (mostly forgotten during the previous season, not living up to its full potential).
And when you think with all the goodies going on, that it’s about to wind it down a bit, you’ll get served another movie-quality-like two-parter, nicely scheduled during the sweeps. Best season yet ? Probably (though last season’s finale will always linger in the back of your head, making you think season 5 could be the best).

A new year, a new adventure. Question always remains, what kind of adventure ? Well, this year seems a little bit dull. While the story starts off with an avalanche of things happening, nothing _really_ happens. The chaotic pace keeps on going till the end, making you feel quite a bit empty when you walk out of the theatre.
So, how come ? Well, for one, while they’re trying a lot to cram of everything in the 157 minutes, every scene seems to cut off at the last moment, and it never gets picked up again. Very choppy storytelling to say the least. Then with a whole bunch of new characters showing up (nothing to write home about) the recurring characters only get non-meaningful appearances. This leaves the few key scenes worth naming clocking in at a mere 10 minutes. The chase scenes and empty dialogues don’t add to the story, nor is there time for real character development. Acting isn’t really memorable, save for Ralph Fiennes’ performance.
With humor on a low simmer, this doesn’t make it a kiddy movie anymore (the 12+ rating is probably to save the kids an expensive sleep at the theatre). Neither is it a high school ensemble, or an adult drama. With no real mystery going on (or just the very predictable kind), all you get is the standard adventure tale, making it less interesting than the other chapters.
It seems the only magic at work here is how it is possible that this chapter, regarded by many as the best book of the series, became the least meaty one of this movie series.7+.

Not a lot of new blood on the silver screen, but on the tiny screen, I found one again. With only a few guest spots (Smallville, Boston Legal, and even an unaired episode (Jake 2.0)) under her belt, she’s definitely going to make it. Who is it ? Tamara Feldman.
Proving on recent episodes of Boston Legal, not only is her looks (with a face (and body) that seems like it’s sculpted according to the mathematical equations described in God’s Handbook of building a Hot Chick) a constant visual diversion, she’s got some acting skills to show too. Though, hopefully she won’t be typecasted as the next generic screaming chick as her two upcoming movies (Something’s Wrong in Kansas and Hatchet) are of the horror genre. In any case, don’t tell me I didn’t warn ya.
Here are some pics: Picture 1 | Picture 2 | Picture 3

Magic rules at the box office, as the boy, pardon me, dude wizard already, conjures its biggest opener in the series with $101.4 million. Almost $10 million ahead of the Azkaban chapter, makes this a fourth place of the biggest openers yet (Spidey, SWIII and Shrek 2 make the top 3).
A very distant second, is Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line, singing some $22.4 million into the cash register.
Chicken Little drops two places, with this week’s $14.8 the cume stands at $99.2. Derailed and Zathura are neck and neck, rounding off the top 5 with resp. $6.53 million and $5.1 million.