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Link Soup for August 2010

This is the Link Soup for August 2010

Posted on Tuesday August 31st, 2010 at 1:00 AM by ColdINK
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Link Soup for July 2010

This is the Link Soup for July 2010

Posted on Saturday July 31st, 2010 at 1:00 AM by ColdINK
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Reply to this post, 252 Views

Link Soup for June 2010

This is the Link Soup for June 2010

Posted on Wednesday June 30th, 2010 at 1:00 AM by ColdINK
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Reply to this post, 509 Views

Link Soup for May 2010

This is the Link Soup for May 2010

Posted on Monday May 31st, 2010 at 1:00 AM by ColdINK
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Web-based outlining app

I like thinking in outlines. I dislike mind maps--too messy. Outlines are my preferred form of structuring information.

There's a good web-based app I've been using for a while called thinklinkr. Today they are out of beta. It's worth checking out :)

http://www.thinklinkr.com

And yes, there's a reason for this post ;)

Posted on Friday May 21st, 2010 at 11:23 AM by DranoK
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Tags: outlines, thinklinkr, web app
2 Comments, 1039 Views

DranoK's short Alice in Wonderland review

In short, I didn't like it. Read on for my reasons ;)

tim-burton-alice-and-wonderland-johnny-deep-mad-hatter-queen-hearts-01.jpg

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I don't have any fond childhood memories of Alice in Wonderland--the thing was far too girlish for me as a boy. I've grown to quite like it over time, however. So I'm not just criticizing this movie due to nostalgia broken.

No, this movie had serious flaws I think. I'd be glad to elaborate on any of these. For now, enjoy them in list form.

The CG was horrid. Absolutely horrid. I mean, it felt horrid by 1990s standards. The rendered objects did not mix with the scenery. The characters did not stitch well against the green screen. Overall it felt clumsy and rushed.
In the same vein, the faux 3D effects were beyond annoying. And no, although well-delivered, Alice's "curiouser and curiouser" line did not salvage the first 3D fiasco.
The Cheshire Cat's personality was all wrong. So wrong. So very, very wrong. Not so much at the beginning, but at the end...
Alice in Wonderland is about glorifying absurdity. Philosophical nuggets wrapped in absurdity and delivered via deep conversation. In the book, when the Cheshire Cat floats away as a head, it sparks an argument whether something without a head can indeed be beheaded. In the movie, when the Cheshire cat does the same thing for the Hatter (which goes against his entire character, mind you) the Queen just sits there watching. Yeah.
This is such a big thing to me it deserves two bullet points. Seriously. If you've ever read the book, or seen any valid rendition, you get what I mean. The characters are characters, the atmosphere is atmosphere, the dialog is the entire point and the story is little more than a parsley leaf. In this movie, story trumps everything else. Which is too bad. The story sucked.
I mean, I get the idea of Alice going back as a much older girl and not remembering anything. Encountering Wonderland in a post-disaster state. Problem is, Burton didn't try to do this as a sequel (that still would have been terrible, but not as terrible). No. Using Alice's memory loss as a major plot device, he tries to re-enact the original encounters. Problem is, he gutted them of their entire meaning. The dialog has been eviscerated so badly it destroys the mood.
The characters are mere shadow mockeries of themselves rather than absurd parodies of reality.
The story was way too blatant and overbearing. I'm not sure why Burton wanted to turn Alice in Wonderland into Lord of the Rings, but he tried nonetheless. *sigh*

I could go on but you get the idea. These are my main points, anyway. That said, there were a few good things about the movie:

Alice was played brilliantly for the most part, especially before she fell down the rabbit hole. She kind of went down hill by there. She sucked when clad in armor--but that really wasn't her fault. Armor? Really? Gah.
The mad hatter was, of course, brilliant. But how couldn't he be? Even though his character and dialog were gutted as badly as any other Depp still managed to make the hatter's character shine through. Really the only character done right.
The hatter's crush on Alice was superb. Truly wonderful. Especially given Lewis Carroll's *ahem* affections for young girls.

In any case, Depp was the only real shining point of the film. The rest sucked.

Posted on Tuesday May 18th, 2010 at 11:07 AM by DranoK
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Tags: alice in wonderland, movie, review, tim burton, johnny depp
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Squirrel attacks with cuteness

It's super effective.

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Posted on Monday May 10th, 2010 at 10:51 AM by DranoK
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Tags: army, attack, cute, cuteness, squirrel
3 Comments, 901 Views

Tweety learns to skate

I hate Tweety Bird.

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Posted on Wednesday May 5th, 2010 at 5:43 PM by DranoK
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Tags: bird, image, skate, tweety
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