I got to watch Taking Woodstock today! Granted, I do not believe it to be at all a realistic depiction of the attitudes of the times, but it was a jolly good effort at providing an idealized interpretation of the legendary music festival.
I know that some critics have complained that the movie was unrealistic, boring at parts and totally missed out on the music part of the music festival. I do agree with that, but I am more inclined to evaluate the movie on the fact that it's intended as a comedy. I think the movie's got a little of everything to represent the key events happening around the time.
I did find it funny in parts, hilarious in others and just plain confusing in many bits. But I felt the confusion actually added to the believability of a massive music festival being pulled together in dribs and drabs. It also felt like a coming of age story, whereby the protagonist discovered who he really was and struck out to finally live his own life. No more mama's boy there. A touching thing, really.
Hmm...was it realistic? Having a transvestite (or was it transsexual?) being so easily accepted by everyone, and a bit of nice openly gay kissing being taken in stride? Probably not even at Woodstock. A Jew being quite openly gay and eating "extra" bacon on his "usual"? Not terribly likely. A home boy taking his first hit of drugs? Not a very good influence either, though I doubt this movie's for the kids. The token 'Nam and Korea vets? I think those who watched will know precisely what they feel about those characters.
Overall, besides the really awesome depiction of the festival itself (in overview) and that iconic muddy hill, I'd say the movie has just what the people need: A myth. A myth that depicts a golden era that never was, but that can serve as an ideal of tolerance that we can all work towards. Ok probably not the orgies and drugs. heh. Or maybe. I don't know.
I'd say...7.5/10? It's not a great movie, but then I'd say it's worth watching if you like this kinda thing.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
DIY Light Tent
I was reading up on creating that awesome sauce DIY light tent from the strobist site (http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html), then built one myself. Used correctly, it has some truly sweet results:
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/Meredith_Nichols/E3/50/Old%20tech%20shoot/P9278018.jpg
Unfortunately, it does have some drawbacks when shooting shiny stuff. For example, the sides and the top may be reflected in the objects. One option is to simply change the angle of the objects to avoid the reflections. However, that may limit the angles possible for the shoot.
To solve that, selectively blocking off the windows may help. Another option is to move the light source to de-emphasize the reflections. Of course, the perfect world solution is to simply get a light tent equivalent without the cardboard that comes with the territory.
I was reading a book on constructing DIY photographic equipment and it seems that the fiberglass rods used to make kites is remarkably good when coupled with the light diffusing material. Of course, I currently have no access to that material, and am a bit skeptical about just how budget the rods might be...
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a335/Meredith_Nichols/E3/50/Old%20tech%20shoot/P9278018.jpg
Unfortunately, it does have some drawbacks when shooting shiny stuff. For example, the sides and the top may be reflected in the objects. One option is to simply change the angle of the objects to avoid the reflections. However, that may limit the angles possible for the shoot.
To solve that, selectively blocking off the windows may help. Another option is to move the light source to de-emphasize the reflections. Of course, the perfect world solution is to simply get a light tent equivalent without the cardboard that comes with the territory.
I was reading a book on constructing DIY photographic equipment and it seems that the fiberglass rods used to make kites is remarkably good when coupled with the light diffusing material. Of course, I currently have no access to that material, and am a bit skeptical about just how budget the rods might be...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Digital Nostalgia
To date, digital is where the cutting edge is. Everything modern is often electronic in some way, using digital technology. I was wondering what nostalgia would be like in the days when digital has become a relic of the past, and this is how it could be:
You know, I long for the days when digital photography was in vogue. I mean, nowadays, the bio-uplink images can be so true to life and be exactly like looking through someone else's eyes, but the images lack that unnatural punch, that oversaturation that the old digital cameras could make. I like the feel of the shutter button, the sheer detail in the images back then. Of course, nowadays everyone's into the modern stuff that's so much easier to share with others, without having to go through a cumbersome computer. It's such a pity, because they could've improved digital into subatomic proportions and aren't limited by retina upgrades.
Things are gone now, like the experiencing of loading and unloading memory cards, taking care not to crack them or lose them, then taking the trouble to power up the ancient computers of the early 2000's and hope that the buggy program would actually work. Heck, bio-uplink imagery nowadays just does not have the personal feel that old digital had. So nowadays, I occasionally pick up a digital body to take those timeless shots that nobody else ever makes nowadays.
You know, I long for the days when digital photography was in vogue. I mean, nowadays, the bio-uplink images can be so true to life and be exactly like looking through someone else's eyes, but the images lack that unnatural punch, that oversaturation that the old digital cameras could make. I like the feel of the shutter button, the sheer detail in the images back then. Of course, nowadays everyone's into the modern stuff that's so much easier to share with others, without having to go through a cumbersome computer. It's such a pity, because they could've improved digital into subatomic proportions and aren't limited by retina upgrades.
Things are gone now, like the experiencing of loading and unloading memory cards, taking care not to crack them or lose them, then taking the trouble to power up the ancient computers of the early 2000's and hope that the buggy program would actually work. Heck, bio-uplink imagery nowadays just does not have the personal feel that old digital had. So nowadays, I occasionally pick up a digital body to take those timeless shots that nobody else ever makes nowadays.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Dreadful Valuations
I think some of us will have reached a consensus by now that the labour market is oddly and dreadfully valued. By that I mean that human labour is being compensated by a formula that is completely divorced from their value as factors of production.
I was shocked and horrified when I was at a panel of employers, who were talking about people who were perfectly willing to work for NO pay. That is, yup that's right...work for free. To give the prospective employees the benefit of the doubt, I'm assuming that they are serious about working.
What did not make sense was that the employers said they would hire the "free" fellas above and beyond the ones who would rather do the job but want pay for it. It would've been perfectly fine if the employers would hire those guys for no pay, but they did actually assign them salaries.
It seems that there is a huge discrepancy in valuations here. Either the employees are grossly undervaluing themselves (because they think they're worth nothing either from being utterly unproductive or having no self-worth whatsoever), or the employers are grossly overpaying the employees (an employee who costs nothing to hire should by definition do no work). Maybe it's both, or the employees are simply liars. I don't know.
I do understand the concept of passion and dedication, and that hobbyists have been doing what is potentially commercially viable work for essentially nothing. What I do not understand is how it's possible or even believable that the hobbyist attitude can survive in the commercial capitalist environment. If the employees are truly earnest about that, they're really just gona open themselves up to exploitation on all fronts.
I was shocked and horrified when I was at a panel of employers, who were talking about people who were perfectly willing to work for NO pay. That is, yup that's right...work for free. To give the prospective employees the benefit of the doubt, I'm assuming that they are serious about working.
What did not make sense was that the employers said they would hire the "free" fellas above and beyond the ones who would rather do the job but want pay for it. It would've been perfectly fine if the employers would hire those guys for no pay, but they did actually assign them salaries.
It seems that there is a huge discrepancy in valuations here. Either the employees are grossly undervaluing themselves (because they think they're worth nothing either from being utterly unproductive or having no self-worth whatsoever), or the employers are grossly overpaying the employees (an employee who costs nothing to hire should by definition do no work). Maybe it's both, or the employees are simply liars. I don't know.
I do understand the concept of passion and dedication, and that hobbyists have been doing what is potentially commercially viable work for essentially nothing. What I do not understand is how it's possible or even believable that the hobbyist attitude can survive in the commercial capitalist environment. If the employees are truly earnest about that, they're really just gona open themselves up to exploitation on all fronts.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Answers Of Our Times
I was reading with interest the scientists' hypothesis as to how Mars became a red planet. The experiments they performed to replicate what was observed in nature struck me as quite similar to what a soothsayer might have done in the past: Replicate a natural phenomenon and provide the answer to a relatively un-learned audience.
True, true, science nowadays is backed up with replicable experiments and tested theories, but come to think of it, so did soothsayers in their day. If the bones of prophecy did not fall right, or the crops failed, a soothsayer might attribute it to the whims of the fickle gods. Not quite something that can be directly proven by the audience. As for the more sophisticated experiments of the scientists, well, the average person probably does not have the equipment to replicate it either.
I suppose people will always want answers, preferably from authorities on the matter. I do wonder what things will be like in the distant future (assuming humanity is not wiped out by one catastrophe or another), what the scientists would think of our (comparatively) primitive methods of discovery and perhaps even marvel at the lost secrets of our craft when they discover some of our creations that they can no longer replicate.
True, true, science nowadays is backed up with replicable experiments and tested theories, but come to think of it, so did soothsayers in their day. If the bones of prophecy did not fall right, or the crops failed, a soothsayer might attribute it to the whims of the fickle gods. Not quite something that can be directly proven by the audience. As for the more sophisticated experiments of the scientists, well, the average person probably does not have the equipment to replicate it either.
I suppose people will always want answers, preferably from authorities on the matter. I do wonder what things will be like in the distant future (assuming humanity is not wiped out by one catastrophe or another), what the scientists would think of our (comparatively) primitive methods of discovery and perhaps even marvel at the lost secrets of our craft when they discover some of our creations that they can no longer replicate.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Home Studio
I was watching some videos on studio lighting, and I noticed that the softboxes had an interesting feature: They were loaded with compact fluorescents. This was an interesting discovery, since I expected tungstens and perhaps some other fancy exotic bulb inside. CFLs I can obtain for myself. That's when I figured that it would be a good idea to get out there and try to create my own budget studio rig.
Undoubtedly, standard studio equipment costs a bomb and the high powered stuff does indeed use exotic incandescents and strobes. But then light is light, and properly managed it can produce pretty much similar results as formal studio equipment. There's a difference, of course, since I'm just learning about lighting, and can take my time about things, while studios need everything snap snap.
Anyway, I got myself a bunch of really cheap wired bulb holders that came with oversized clips. A true godsend, since they were ready to clip to my tripods just like that. So my tripods made pretty convenient light stands to hold my new CFL lamps. The current problem is that I've only got bare bulbs, and really could do with some reflectors.
The next thing I did was to get a reflector and gobo, which ultimately took the form of a shower curtain and silver foil. I suppose it may even be possible to get silver foil trays for use as reflectors of my own bare bulbs. And then I got a black mounting board to put the items on for shooting.
Overall I think the setup's fine for now, but really, I need to brush up on my skillz. That's the ticket. Thankfully, the whole setup cost me less than $50 in marginal cost, which is way less than I'd have to pay for a single decent flash unit.
Undoubtedly, standard studio equipment costs a bomb and the high powered stuff does indeed use exotic incandescents and strobes. But then light is light, and properly managed it can produce pretty much similar results as formal studio equipment. There's a difference, of course, since I'm just learning about lighting, and can take my time about things, while studios need everything snap snap.
Anyway, I got myself a bunch of really cheap wired bulb holders that came with oversized clips. A true godsend, since they were ready to clip to my tripods just like that. So my tripods made pretty convenient light stands to hold my new CFL lamps. The current problem is that I've only got bare bulbs, and really could do with some reflectors.
The next thing I did was to get a reflector and gobo, which ultimately took the form of a shower curtain and silver foil. I suppose it may even be possible to get silver foil trays for use as reflectors of my own bare bulbs. And then I got a black mounting board to put the items on for shooting.
Overall I think the setup's fine for now, but really, I need to brush up on my skillz. That's the ticket. Thankfully, the whole setup cost me less than $50 in marginal cost, which is way less than I'd have to pay for a single decent flash unit.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Meaning In Work
I think I've written about this before, but I'll do it again. It never fails to bewilder me how some people go around lamenting about how life is "boring" and "meaningless" when they're not working. They're usually retirees, of course. I can imagine a working age person who has loads of bills to pay would be quite distressed at losing the primary source of income.
But most retirees are presumably pretty well-off, what with their pensions, severance pay and life savings. You'd think that retirement was a fine time to finally indulge whatever hobbies one's picked up in that long, dreary life. I know that many working age people are complaining about how work's eaten up their lives, and that they don't have the "time" to pursue their hobbies.
Perhaps it's true. That work really has eaten up their lives, chewed it up and spat it out. Work *becomes* their lives, and they feel empty or aimless without work to guide their daily existence. That's pretty sad, seeing as how they could've really gone out there and tried to finally live life for real. Retirees are near death, and it's time that they lived like the dying.
But most retirees are presumably pretty well-off, what with their pensions, severance pay and life savings. You'd think that retirement was a fine time to finally indulge whatever hobbies one's picked up in that long, dreary life. I know that many working age people are complaining about how work's eaten up their lives, and that they don't have the "time" to pursue their hobbies.
Perhaps it's true. That work really has eaten up their lives, chewed it up and spat it out. Work *becomes* their lives, and they feel empty or aimless without work to guide their daily existence. That's pretty sad, seeing as how they could've really gone out there and tried to finally live life for real. Retirees are near death, and it's time that they lived like the dying.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Living Like The Dying
I was pondering the concept of the bucket list, of things one will wana do before one dies. Sometimes the stuff on the bucket list is just plain castle in the sky unrealistic. Ok that's fine. I'll probably never get a dophinectomy or birdectomy anyway. But then there's the stuff that can be done by dumping everything one has, into achieving a goal. The dying do it to live what remains of their pathetic mortal lives to the fullest.
It seems to me that only the dying really know how to live. It is like how Alexander was being completely irresponsible, sallying forth to conquer the world with everything his nation got...all without leaving an heir at the onset. For a king, that is irresponsible indeed.
Then I ask myself: Why am I not doing that? Sure, not everything on a bucket list can be pulled off due to resource limitations. But everything else can be done. Yet for those of us who expect to live long long long lives, everything on the list is probably procrastinated to some unspecified later date. Why can't we just live like the dying? There is always a safety reserve in case of unforseen circumstances, but now I am increasingly convinced that it is better to burn brightly for a short life, than to live a long one and die a straw death.
It seems to me that only the dying really know how to live. It is like how Alexander was being completely irresponsible, sallying forth to conquer the world with everything his nation got...all without leaving an heir at the onset. For a king, that is irresponsible indeed.
Then I ask myself: Why am I not doing that? Sure, not everything on a bucket list can be pulled off due to resource limitations. But everything else can be done. Yet for those of us who expect to live long long long lives, everything on the list is probably procrastinated to some unspecified later date. Why can't we just live like the dying? There is always a safety reserve in case of unforseen circumstances, but now I am increasingly convinced that it is better to burn brightly for a short life, than to live a long one and die a straw death.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Cruelty To Post-Egg Animals
http://blog.beliefnet.com/everydayethics/2009/09/grist-for-the-mill-knowing-male-chicks-are-tossed-alive-into-grinders-will-you-still-eat-eggs.html
I was reading the coverage on the great male chick grindup, and frankly, I think it's just sick. The video link's at the bottom, and you really gota watch it to get an idea of the scene of the crime. Actually, the chicken industry is just plain sick. I was already well aware of the terrible conditions for the animals and the debeaking, but grinding up live chicks totally takes the cake.
Actually, I can see the logic behind it. After all, the male chicks are not gona be good for what chickens are good for i.e. fast meat and eggs, so they're really not very useful except for fertilizing the hens. But since we don't want bloody messes in our eggs, we don't really want too many roosters doing that for nothing.
Yet despite all this, I am aware that I am not without blame. Countless chickens have already given their lives to feed me, and I'm proud to say that their tormented meat has not gone to waste. Actually, it has, but it served me first. The thing is not about not eating meat because of cruelty to animals. It might reduce demand, but I do not think it would improve the lot of the poor chickens a hell of a lot. What needs to be done is to lobby against cruelty to food-animals. I say food-animals, because it's really the livestock that's getting the short end of the stick. If someone puts another person's pet dog into a grinder, I do think the authorities would do something about it. These creatures are gona be our food, and really...I don't wana have to be eating too much tormented meat. My life is torment enough as it is. Actually, no...I do so love my camera and computer. That makes me a bad liar.
I was reading the coverage on the great male chick grindup, and frankly, I think it's just sick. The video link's at the bottom, and you really gota watch it to get an idea of the scene of the crime. Actually, the chicken industry is just plain sick. I was already well aware of the terrible conditions for the animals and the debeaking, but grinding up live chicks totally takes the cake.
Actually, I can see the logic behind it. After all, the male chicks are not gona be good for what chickens are good for i.e. fast meat and eggs, so they're really not very useful except for fertilizing the hens. But since we don't want bloody messes in our eggs, we don't really want too many roosters doing that for nothing.
Yet despite all this, I am aware that I am not without blame. Countless chickens have already given their lives to feed me, and I'm proud to say that their tormented meat has not gone to waste. Actually, it has, but it served me first. The thing is not about not eating meat because of cruelty to animals. It might reduce demand, but I do not think it would improve the lot of the poor chickens a hell of a lot. What needs to be done is to lobby against cruelty to food-animals. I say food-animals, because it's really the livestock that's getting the short end of the stick. If someone puts another person's pet dog into a grinder, I do think the authorities would do something about it. These creatures are gona be our food, and really...I don't wana have to be eating too much tormented meat. My life is torment enough as it is. Actually, no...I do so love my camera and computer. That makes me a bad liar.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Being A Wanabe
There are times when I truly feel like a wanabe. Sure, I may scoff at the people who go around saying the word "pro" too often, but ultimately there are things I'd look at and think: Hey! I wana be at that level! Sorta essentially the same thing, without saying the word "pro".
Sometimes it's an aspiration. That sounds awfully constructive. Other times it's really just a sort of envy, of wanting to ascend to the heights that others have reached, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants. Maybe it's ultimately the same. I do not know.
I do wonder whether I'm getting where I want to get to fast enough, hard enough and just what the hell I'd do once I get there. It's easy to aspire. But what happens once one achieves? Will I turn back when I finally face the Ganges?
Sometimes it's an aspiration. That sounds awfully constructive. Other times it's really just a sort of envy, of wanting to ascend to the heights that others have reached, to stand shoulder to shoulder with the giants. Maybe it's ultimately the same. I do not know.
I do wonder whether I'm getting where I want to get to fast enough, hard enough and just what the hell I'd do once I get there. It's easy to aspire. But what happens once one achieves? Will I turn back when I finally face the Ganges?
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