From an NPR article, Are Movies Getting Better? The famous screenwriter William Goldman had a saying about the ability of the movie studios to predict what would be a critical or commercial success: “Nobody knows anything.” Waldfogel calls this “Goldman’s Law,” The methodology described in the article to arrive at its conclusion is flawed, but…
Samsung Galaxy S6 Active Redux
My phone since December 2015 has been a Samsung Galaxy S6 Active. It is more than three years old, and until last week, it was still going strong. No performance or stability problems. The screen is still perfect. Even though I don’t use a case, there is so little external cosmetic damage that I don’t…
Ultra-Wide Angle
I finally own the so-called “Holy Trinity” of Canon zoom lenses. I acquired my original Canon EOS camera outfit, including the 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 lenses, in 2005. Since then, I have wanted to round out my lens collection with a 16-35mm ultra-wide angle zoom lens. It isn’t useful for model photography, so it…
Hats
I was never a hat person until I started hunting. Wearing a blaze orange hat is a requirement* for hunting in Missouri. However, it turns out that a hat is functional beyond making me visible to other hunters. For one thing, it keeps you warm. Keeping your head warm will do more to preserve body…
Skyward
When I had first heard about Skyward, it seemed interesting, but I ultimately decided not to read it. Brandon Sanderson is an amazing author who has become one of my favorites, and the description of the story was definitely interesting, but when I found out it was YA fiction, I decided to pass. My recent…
Unrealistic Characters
I am just starting Elantris, which is Brandon Sanderson’s first published novel. I’m not ready to call his characters two-dimensional, but let’s say they are simple. This is a subject that concerns me, because it I find it to be one of the major factors in making or breaking the quality a novel. I have…
Doctor Zhivago
I was young when I first saw Doctor Zhivago. It would be fair to say that I didn’t really understand it. Primarily, I remember a series of visuals, and perhaps the music. I had watched it a few times since. It wasn’t until this year (well, last year now) that I read the book (the…
Incel and Feminism
Ever since the Toronto van attack brought the Incel movement into public awareness, people around me have periodically made statements expressing bafflement at their violence, rationale, and rhetoric. Indeed, their violence, rationale, and rhetoric — or at least the sensational bits pounced upon by the media — are illogical. However, it has occurred to me that…
The End of e-Books
I have been watching a fair amount of Netflix television, the sort that comes as a single season of four to eight episodes, once referred to as a miniseries. A lot of them have been smart murder mysteries and/or political thrillers, and a lot of them have come from the UK or Australia. Mindhunter, Secret…
Bump Stocks
The Justice Department, under the direction of the NRA’s boy, President Donald Trump, has moved to reclassify bump stocks as machine guns. I should begin by saying that I do not own any bump stock, and I have never fired a weapon equipped with one. I think they are a silly toy, and I have…