Exactly when did we enter the film season of “Bleak House?” There’s Oblivion, White House Down, World War Z and even the latest Start Trek installment, Into Darkness which is well, dark. Apparently the screenwriters and studio heads in Hollywood need to double their anxiety meds. I know things are challenging in the real world, but […]
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Five Years on Twitter, or How I Spent 18.1 Days of my Life
April 5, 2013 
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Updated April 5, 2013. Some content previously published. I’ve been using Twitter for five years. It’s amazing to see how much Twitter has changed over that time. Actually it’s only over the last 24 months or so that they have made significant leaps, with the first years serving as setting the foundation. Twitter is about […]
Read moreRemembering Roger Ebert
April 4, 2013 0 Comments
Any lover of film my age was heavily influenced by what Roger Ebert wrote about the movies. He was not trained in film theory and started out his career as a journalist. You might say he was in the right place at the right time as the Chicago Sun-Times decided to anoint their first film […]
Read moreWashington, A Work in Progress
April 1, 2013 0 Comments
I spent last week in Washington D.C. This city used to be a frequent destination for me to visit museums, take in the architectural beauty and reflect on our history as a nation. This was however my first visit in nearly nine years and it was a very different trip as it involved my 8 […]
Read moreSXSW – It’s About Your Brain
March 17, 2013 1 Comment
SXSW is not for cowards. You must do your homework before you go or you will wander around the halls of the Austin Convention Center and have little to show for it. Two talks I attended on Saturday at SXSW 2013 continued the theme of trying to make sense of all that has happened these […]
Read moreSXSW – Digital’s Dark Side
March 14, 2013 0 Comments
UPDATE March 30, 2013 Video embedded below On day two I entered a Hilton meeting room to listen to John Hagel‘s talk, Moving Story to Narrative. Mr. Hagel is Co-Chairman of Deloitte’s Center for the Edge, a practice that helps senior executives and brands better understand and benefit from emerging opportunities and new technologies. His distinguished career […]
Read moreSXSW – Storytelling
March 12, 2013 4 Comments
Austin welcomed the 20th SXSW Interactive event. That’s right twenty years. Despite the fact that digital moves at the speed of light, it has a way of creeping up on us. We’ve become so comfortable with it permeating nearly every corner of our lives we hardly notice when it does. And so there I was […]
Read moreSide Effects – Film Review
March 2, 2013 0 Comments
The release of the psychological thriller Side Effects brings with it good news and bad news. First the bad news. Director Steven Soderbergh has announced this is will be his last feature film. He’s retiring from moviemaking (I don’t believe it, or just refuse to believe it). Now the good news, we get the chance to see […]
Read moreMy Oscar Picks for 2013
February 23, 2013 0 Comments
The 85th Academy Awards ceremony is only a day away. So many terrific films and excellent performances this past year has caused me lots of back and forth in filling out my ballot. In my opinion there are only two slam dunks; Daniel Day-Lewis for actor and Anne Hathaway for supporting actress. The rest are […]
Read moreSkyfall – Film Review
February 21, 2013 3 Comments
As someone who has seen probably 90% of the Bond films in the theater, I’ve had a front row seat at the evolution of the character and series. I do not engage in the “Who’s the best Bond” discussions or even which is the “Best Bond film.” This franchise has been running almost continuously for […]
Read moreIt’s December 2013. Did you Achieve Your Goals?
February 5, 2013 0 Comments
Thought you’d like that headline. We have turned the January corner and if you are like many people in the corporate world you are still working on your 2013 goals. Yeah mine are done! Oh that was a bit smug wasn’t it. Well no matter, soon enough you will finalize them, get them approved, revise […]
Read moreSilver Linings Playbook – Film Review
January 28, 2013 0 Comments
As with so many films that examine mental illness through the lens of their characters, Silver Linings Playbook ends up like most, with the crazies saner than the non-crazies. I was hoping David O. Russell would push the envelope a bit and give us a fresh look, but the film plays it safe. Bradley Cooper […]
Read moreZero Dark Thirty – Film Review
January 14, 2013 1 Comment
2012 will be remembered as the year the movies took back their time slot. The year the industry remembered they have a super power; making big, ambitious, thought-provoking pictures and damn the running time or who might be protesting. Six major feature films released in the fall/winter season topped the two hour twenty minute mark. […]
Read moreArbitrage – Film Review
January 2, 2013 0 Comments
Ever since Bernie Madoff and the financial meltdown it’s fashionable to dislike the Wall Street uber-rich. In Arbitrage, Richard Gere’s portrayal of hedge-fund manager Robert Miller ushers in the next level; despising them. As the picture opens Miller is reflecting on his third stage of life and is looking to get out of business and […]
Read moreLes Miserables Close-up
December 31, 2012 2 Comments
Les Misérables has been told countless times since Victor Hugo gave us his enormous novel. I uncovered over 50 small and large screen versions with only modest effort. Even Orson Welles tackled it on radio in 1937. Les Misérables is probably best known in contemporary times as a musical that began onstage in Paris in 1978. […]
Read moreNo Longer an Empty (Nest)er
December 27, 2012 0 Comments
I received a Nest wireless thermostat as a present this year and I am beyond thrilled. I know Santa can bring many things so why ask for a thermostat? Most of us don’t give thermostats much thought. For decades the thermostat did not go through any evolution. It was a small, round ring on the […]
Read moreLincoln – Film Review
December 18, 2012 1 Comment
Lincoln reminds us that there have always been troubling times and politics is a dirty business. Politics is about compromises struck by people with violently clashing differences. If there can be no compromise then we have the gridlock of nothingness. People suffer and die outside Washington everyday while inside the dome, maddening brinksmanship takes place. […]
Read moreThe Brydge iPad Keyboard – Product Review
December 11, 2012 2 Comments
I really wanted to love the Brydge from the moment I saw it on Kickstarter earlier this year. It’s another of those wireless keyboards you can use with you iPad via Bluetooth. I backed the project and took possession of my Brydge with speakers yesterday. There are lot good things. It looks terrific and feels […]
Read moreSavvy or Dependent?
November 30, 2012 1 Comment
I heard a young man (Generation Y) ask me to finish this sentence about himself, “I am technology _________.” The obvious answer was “savvy,” but the answer he was looking for, to describe his generation and many who will follow, was “dependent.” We’re through the looking glass here and into all new technology territory. Savvy […]
Read moreThe Big Cats of the National Tiger Sanctuary
November 26, 2012 1 Comment
This week I visited the National Tiger Sanctuary in Southwest Missouri for the second time. It’s tucked away just off I65 between Springfield and Branson in Saddlebrooke, Missouri. It has a loyal following but is completely overshadowed by Branson show business. Several times I’ve struck up conversations with locals in stores or restaurants. They ask […]
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