I’ve been super excited for Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Outliers: Why Some People Succeed and Some Don’t”. The release date of November 18, 2008 was just announced on Amazon, as well they’ve got a product description up too:
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”—the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.
Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.
Here’s a list of writings and talks by and about Gladwell that cover genius/prodigy, education, and working:
Heather Armstrong, aka Dooce, just announced the release of the new book she’s been putting together, Things I Learned About My Dad (in therapy). It’s a book of essays by several of her good friends (some of whom I read regularly), about fatherhood from the perspective of fathers, wives, daughters and sons.
I’ve written two of the 17 essays, one about my father and one about Jon. A few weeks ago I gave my father an advance copy of the book with the hope that he would read what I had written, but I didn’t say anything to him other than HERE IS MY HEART AND SOUL, DO WITH IT WHAT YOU WILL. I found out a week later that he had taken it home and used it to prop up a wobbly toilet. I like to think that I improved his life by those two inches.
Guillermo del Toro has been hired to direct two movie adaptations of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit.
His previous directing credits include Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, and Blade II, none of which I’ve seen but Ebert’s review of Pan’s Labyrinth has me curious.
I’m one of the few fans Tolkien’s books that enjoy The Hobbit more than the Lord of the Rings, so news of the new movies has me fairly excited. I’m not sure how I feel about Peter Jackson sitting in as producer instead of director, but you can bet they will be filmed in a way that seamlessly completes the series.
The critics are giving it rave reviews, but don’t be deceived. If you have a sinking suspicion, this movie is not for you, go with your gut.
On the other hand I enjoyed it for what it is, a chance for Tim Burton to do the kind of work he does best. It’s dark, macabre, and stereotypically Burton. What was once the bloodiest musical in stage history is now the bloodiest in film history.
And what a lot of blood! Fans of gore will not be disappointed. Wow.
It should be noted that, if stylized animation and HDR imagery are your thing, the opening credits will please you.
If this movie intrigues you, Brian Sibley’s review, offers the kind of insight that only someone from London who has seen the musical could offer.
For the first time since 1989, Harrison Ford dons the familiar costume on Thursday, June 21, 2007, as the upcoming Indiana Jones adventure begins production under the direction of Steven Spielberg. The new Indiana Jones movie is set in the 1950s and stars Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent. The Lucasfilm Ltd. production will be released by Paramount Pictures worldwide on May 22, 2008.
A group of clever and always hilarious New Media students from the University of Lethbridge came together to produce a comedy student film titled “Inside Charlie”. I understand that they hired union actors and raised the production costs themselves. It sounds like it’s actually going to be a really funny movie.
The premiere of our High Definition short film, “Inside Charlie” will be finally happening in February! Along with 4 to 5 other shorts which were shot in the Fall of 2006, our films will be premiering in the SU ballrooms on February 3rd, 2007. A short synopsis of Inside Charlie for those of you who haven’t heard…
Charlie – photographer and father - parks on a set of train tracks, determined to take a picture that will save his career. When the train comes earlier than scheduled, he refuses to let his career slip between his fingertips. In the seconds before impact he is overcome by a flash of memories—will his mind reveal the one clue that can save his life?
“Inside Charlie” is a short comedic drama written, filmed, and produced by six Canadian artists. It is an exploration of the mind that exposes the emotional complexities that can drive a human being to choose their career over everything else in their life. Our short film, entitled “Inside Charlie”, uses absurd humour and formalistic satire to take the viewer on a journey inside the protagonist’s mind moments before he could possibly lose his life. In what is to be his final moment on Earth, Charlie relives a lifetime of memories and comes to understand that he has a reason to live, even more important than his career.
Come support your friends and have some drinks at the Zoo! Ticket sales will be in January and February, see below for more details!
Ticket Price:
$8 for U of L students and/or faculty (bring ID card)
$10 for general public
You can purchase tickets in one of three ways:
At the “Inside Charlie” Promo table in the atrium of the University of Lethbridge during RUSH week or on one of these dates:
Tuesday January 16th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Thursday January 18th from 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Monday January 29th to Friday February 2nd from 12:00pm to 2:00pm each day
From one of these five members of Inside Charlie:
Arden Rhine
Ian Flaig
Rod Leland
John Poliquin
Dave Grant
At the door of the event! Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 8pm so come early!
The first 100 people into the Zoo will get free Inside Charlie buttons, so make sure you’re there on time! As well, we will have DVDs and posters for sale, $6 dollars each, or a DVD/Poster package for $10 dollars.
We are excited for you to come out and support your local New Media artists, and can’t wait to share this dream of ours with you. There will be a Q&A session after the screening as well, so you can dive into the minds of the creators. Hope to see you there!
I love this teaser for Seinfeld’s new CG animation Bee Movie. It based on the premise that the movie was originally live-action and we’re seeing how the shooting was going.
Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker piece on predicting box office hits with algorithms relates the Hollywood’s efforts to determine the value of a movie when it’s still in script form. The major problem they are facing is that with so many variables it hard to tell which elements are helping or hindering box office returns. It seems to boil down to the fact that in the end, “nobody knows anything about anything” or do they? As Gladwell’s works usually are, this one is a tremendously good read.
In the tradition of making movies out of Saturday Morning Cartoons from the 80’s, some folks in Hollywood are producing a feature length live-action Transformers Movie (flash site with teaser).
I haven’t actually decided whether or not I’m going to see this movie, but I’m posting this here because hearing the transforming sounds and seeing my childhood imagination being transformed into reality brought on some great memories and if nothing else, I think we could all use a little science-fiction nostalgia to brighten our day.
Last night I enjoyed watching “La Grande séduction” with my friend—I’ll call her A.L., (whom is coincidentally from Lethbridge and even works as a lifeguard at my old pool, but whom I only met recently on my trip to Québec).
The movie was great. It’s about a tiny fishing village on a small island in Québec where almost all of the residents are on welfare. When a much-needed boost, in the form of a new factory, is promised, providing they can secure a full-time Dr. into taking residence there, the mayor starts a massive recruiting project. The main problem being, the microscopic island doesn’t really have much to offer—so the villagers scheme together to make their little village a tiny piece of heaven for their potential MD, Dr. Lewis by creating an elaborate façade of how wonderful the place is. They even go so far as to tap his phone to “understand him better”; hilarity ensues.
Though it’s actually a French movie, we wimped out and watched it with English subtitles, because the two of us weren’t that confidant in our French skills, but I’d totally watch it again only in French this time. But despite the fact that it’s not in English, I highly recommend it. You might need to look for it under its English name, “Seducing Dr. Lewis”. (Personally I like the French title better). So go out and get it, I promise you won’t regret it.
If you’ve got 20 minutes to kill, check out this Kevin Smith clip as he shares his interesting and very funny experiences rewriting the new Superman movie. Previous Superman story post, but Kevin tells it best. (Oh and by way of warning, if you’re not familiar with Kevin Smith you might want to know he’s infamous for his colourful language).
