1884 - Yesterdays Future
This could be interesting. Terry Gilliam, when not great, is at the very least interesting, but we'll have to wait and see...
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Tron Legacy
Yes, I knew what I was getting into, but I'd shown the boy the original and felt obliged to take him to see the second installment. And what can you say? It's everything you'd expect.
I don't mean that in a good way.
Now because my expectations were low, very low, it would have been an easy thing to pleasantly surprise me. I mean, it's not like there isn't fodder for ideas here: there are the "lifeforms" (holodicketymorphosomethingorother...?) that spontaneously populate the world, but they're only a subplot to show how evil "Clue" (Jeff Bridges) can be. A shame, because there is potential there, as demonstrated by Conway's Game of Life. And while I like Jeff Bridges, he proved his evilness plenty well enough by consenting to come back and make this film.
And there's the idea of transcendence - Transhumanism, of a digital immortality, well, of loads of things...
None of which are touched upon even slightly here. Now it is what it is (not very good at all), so I can take it on those grounds, but - with the effects, with the countless unforseen turns technology has taken, and a decent writer - it could have been an awful lot more. For shame.
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Museum of Broken Relationships
Now I could be a heavy donor to this one, in fact, I could probably open my own. Too bad it's in Zagreb or I'd be mailing stuff as we speak....A brief explanation: In Zagreb, people have set up a museum to display those physical elements and pieces of ended relationships they no longer want cluttering their lives. They've done well, so well in fact there's now even a website. A note - the website navigation is a bit confusing, the link to the virtual collection is for emails, photos & SMS/Text messages, the "Exhibit Proper" is a different link. I've linked to both below.
Link: Museum of Broken Relationships & The Exhibits
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Paper Free Billing
Now this is a scam of the first order. "Sign up for paper-free billing", and you're made to feel that it's somehow more environmental, more green and eco-conscious if you do. There's a few ways to go about it. You can sign up to have your bills mailed to your email inbox - OR - you can consent to direct debit from your bank account. I'd recommend against this, as when they cock-up, (and they will cock-up) the chances of you recovering your money are slender at best, and it'd be a full time job for a year or two doing so.
But you sign up for paper-free billing nonetheless, you can check and pay your bills online, and you're feeling pretty good about yourself. That's one less tree they'll have to murder, good company, good consumer. And when you check your mail while there's no sign of any bills, they've taken the liberty of sending you fliers that advertise all the other services they provide, internet, cable TV, the same fliers that used to be sent enclosed with your bill now get their very own envelope and are mailed post-haste. Just in case you didn't read the adverts on their website, just in case you wanted to be reminded. And - in case you bought that whole spiel about paper-free billing being more environmentally friendly - your S.O.L, it was just a ploy to get you to consent to direct debit. They didn't really give a damn about the trees, they just wanted access to your bank account.
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