Monthly Archives

December 2009

Longest day ever in Xel-Ha

When my mother books an excursion, she really books one. Yesterday’s trip to Xel-Ha was no exception. From the 7 am departure, we did not spend a single moment standing still. We drove 30 minutes south to see the ruins at Tulum and then hopped from zip lining and cliff diving at a cenote to cave snorkeling at another of these clear-watered sinkholes to lunch on the beach before snorkeling with turtles, sting rays and a rainbow of fish off of Akumal (Mayan for “turtle nest.”)

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So, let this nerdy traveler be your guide to my Flickr set, won’t you?

¡Bienvenidos a Mexico!

Updated with more photos aqui.

Well, friends, I’m here. Here are some photos of our stay in Playa del Carmen in Quintana Roo, Mexico so far:

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Good morning from Mexico!

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The Mexican Rigel – a Mexicat, if you will.

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Yes, it really does look like a god damned postcard.

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Ah, extravagance!

So, yeah. I do have to say that I’m extremely grateful for being a US citizen at the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. This is beyond amazing – far better than any Mayan king could have imagined – flying thousands of miles to be on a beach in the dead of winter.

Xmas-time picture post

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We had birds yesterday morning, much to the (wishful) gastronomical delight of the cats.

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And then the cooking began – aided by a bottle of Ruinart champagne…

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…and observed, of course, by the Smeageltrix.

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There were walnut and chocolate chip cookies.

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And then a delicious dinner of pork tenderloin medallions wrapped around apple-sage stuffing and accompanied by Boursin mashed potatoes and white asparagus.

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Oh, it a was so very good.

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And then it was time to open presents from my family. Clyde was very intrigued the cat gift. What is it?

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Some sort of weird tunnel. It makes such delightful crinkly sounds…but Rigel is skeptical. This will require further exploration.

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Merry Xmas!

A true nightmare

I don’t know if I’ve perhaps been playing too much Forza 3, watching too much television or reading too many car blogs, but I actually had a dream (more like a nightmare) about the Chevy Cruze last night.  It went a little something like this:

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

You know those horrid ads where Howie Long (dressed in a stylish enough blazer or sweater with an infuriating white t-shirt peaking out the top) condescendingly talks to “hapless” American stereotypes about how they could be so much happier with a Malibu, Traverse or whatever else they are selling now?  Ads that seem to be trying to sell cars based on seats wide enough for childhood obesity, return policies and “cop hair?”

Yeah, well, my dreamscape last night was like one of these ads.

Howie Long, who was both spokesperson and current CEO of General Motors to me, appears randomly in my living room and wakes me up from a mid-weekend morning nap.  Perplexed, I ask Mr. Long why he is in my house.  He just smiles wryly and asks if I’ve driven a Chevy in recent memory.

“No,” I honestly reply, trying to be polite.

“Well, have you taken a look at our New GM™ products?” he inquires.

“Uh, actually, no.  I really prefer European cars and I’m not exactly in the market for a new car right now anyway,” I state, now getting impatient that this football player/executive is not only invading my home but giving me the hard sell treatment.

“Oh, I think you might be, especially after you drive our new 2011 Chevy Cruze,” says Howie, looking like he’s just eaten the canary.

“Really, Mr. Long, I don’t think that your economy car is going to be what I’m after.  I appreciate you stopping by, but as you can see out the window, there’s already and A3 and an…” I start to say as I raise the blinds.

Howie Long gives me a slightly too blank stare.

“Where are the cars?!” I yelp, running for the front door.

Outside, the sky swirls in black and white, ready to pour down an angry rain in just seconds.

“Where the hell did my car go?  This isn’t funny at all, Howie and I want this to stop!”

“Isn’t that it over there?” he asks, motioning to the top of the street.

Now I’m sprinting and the white visage of my  Simone is getting closer and…looking entirely wrong.  The diffuser is smashed and crumpled, there are small dings all over the hood, the trim strip is missing from the driver’s side and the rims have been switched out to 15 inch steel specials with Walmart hub caps.  There are even horribly tacky stickers for kid’s pop and country music acts on the hatch and a massive dent by the gas cap.

“Maybe you’re going to need a new car sooner than you thought?” says the spokes-ecutive, starting to chuckle.

The thunder rolls.  And I wake up.

(Thank god I’m not the only one that hates these ads.)

Hot on the heels

Following up on yesterday’s post on the sci-fi tech of Caprica – chiefly the digital paper, I found this new digital magazine concept from Popular Science publisher, Bonnier. Straight to the video:

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

Now, let’s critique it, shall we? Über sexy.  I’m not entirely sure that I believe the narrator’s notion that page turning is a false notion in a digital format, especially since he’s replaced page turns with horizontal swipes that feel an awful lot like page turns, no? I love the “heat up” concept and the radial menu, though I wonder how it might grow. Overall, I’m happy with Mag+.

And to recap, we’ve had:

Microsoft Courier from aswin indraprastha on Vimeo.

& (terrible techno not withstanding)

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Alright, we get it. Now where’s the Apple Slate to make it happen?!

In the process of so much collecting, I also stumbled across kottke.org, which bills itself “Liberal Arts 2.0.” As we desperately need to rethink this sphere I’m in now, I am intrigued. And will be back.

I want to live in Sci Fi (or Vancouver)

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I finally got to see the Caprica pilot thanks to my successful installation of DirecTV OnDemand (for only $35, no less.)  As the first two episodes premiered in April, there are plenty of reviews of things like plot and characters already online.  So, instead of focusing on these things, I’ll instead be talking about the two topics I really cared about:  technology and aesthetics.

Caprica being set a few years into another culture’s future certainly sets a geek up for quite a bounty of lust-worthy gadgets.  It doesn’t hurt, either, that the family Graystone is rolling in cubits from their diverse and expansive tech empire.  In just the first two hours we’ve seen immersive virtual worlds delivered via holobands, a robotic butler/target, swanky maglev train system and more.  But what I was most smitten with was the electronic paper interfaces that Zoe, Ben and Lacy favor.  Example:

I want this.  I have no idea how it would work, really, but I want it.

And all of this gizmo-y goodness is wrapped in a far more grey depiction of Caprica City than we ever saw in Battlestar.  Any time filming takes place in the Pacific Northwest I’m likely to be won over (Twilight, anyone?) by the finished product.  But Caprica goes a step further than just a great, dreary locale by presenting a world that reads as believable and beautiful.  It’s science fiction, but not campy from fashion to industrial design.  The styling goes above and beyond BSG (who wasn’t tired of Roslin’s suits?) with compelling touches like Victorian mourning garb and references to the show’s Grecian mythology.  Sets are minimalist but richly textured.  I was particularly pleased to see the same predilection for artifacts and sculpture in Joseph Adama’s home as in his son’s future quarters.  I’m excited (as I’m sure the cast and crew are) to see how style evolves without the limitations of refugees and the same damned warship.

Overall, I want to live in Caprica City at the brink of The Fall of Humanity.  But, since it’s fictional, I’ll settle for it’s skyline donor, Vancouver.

Can’t wait for the remaining 19 episodes this January!

Watch: “All the King’s Men” by Wild Beasts

Have had on my computer for a time now but I finally caught this video last night and can’t now get it out of my damned head. Not such a bad fate for Monday, I suppose.

60s modern / modern tech

No, it’s not a Wheel of Fortune puzzle but a collection of faux book covers that I was tipped off to today byGizmodo.  Stéphane Massa-Bidal, a French graphic artist, has created a super cool set of 1960s-style manuals for web services like YouTube, Flickr and Twitter.  You can even buy them as posters – if you want to have a poster shipped from France!

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Check them out on Retrofuturs.

A little pick me up

Since I really need an excuse to think about it right now, I thought I’d post a few of the resort in Mexico where I will be in 17 days, the Iberostar Quetzal.

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Evidently, I'll be arriving via this gate.

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And presumably walking through these paths to my room.

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Before lounging the days away in this pool/bar.

Oh, yeah, did I mention the Mayan ruins at Tulum?

Oh, yeah, did I mention the Mayan ruins at Tulum?

Pretty freaking great. There are apparently monkeys that visit the balconies (Bella, you are getting a new friend) and a Japanese restaurant in the resort. Cave snorkeling, jungle hiking and a bar at the airport. Passport, take me away!

Listen: In This Light and On This Evening by Editors

Sometimes I’m completely caught off-guard by the presence of a new album by a favorite band.  After listening to SiriusXM’s XMU the other day, I found myself in this position.  The band was Editors and the album was titled In This Light and On This Evening.

More surprising was the song that brought me to the new album realization, “Papillon.”  Opening with a menacing synth and snappy drum machine, the song sounds as far from “Munich” as one could expect within the range of the same band.  Tom Smith is just as monotone as ever as lead singer, but his vocals now seems to seethe and threaten. This is not “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors,” good sirs.  This is a whole new beast.

After downloading the rest of the tracks, I was further surprised and delighted by the Kraftwerk meets Joy Division nature of the album.  The title track is stark. Maybe even with a capital “s.”  My absolute favorite at this early stage of acquaintance is far and away “The Big Exit.”  Creeptastic.  The Blade Runner synth is impeccable and if it doesn’t end up with a Noir video, I’m going to be surprised.

Eat Raw Meat = Blood Drool” will bridge the gap between what Editors has become and the material that made their name.  And, for those less in favor of dramatic change, “Bricks and Mortar” should make you feel sonically safe.

Welcome back Editors.  Glad to have bumped in to you.