5.12.2010

I wouldn't use the word hate to describe how I feel about 3D movies. In fact, going to a 3D movie can be fun, but I just read this article entitled "Why I Hate 3D (and You Should Too)" by Roger Ebert. It is awesome, and accurately (and better) expresses many of my own opinions and concerns about the shift of the motion picture industry towards 3D.
Don't give your money to the man. While there are notable exceptions, most 3D movies are shoddy conversions of work that has no business being in 3D. Read the article. Rog lays it down for you. He's the man.

Best,
Jim

5.05.2010


Broken iPhone Screen., originally uploaded by jimturbert.

after a grueling flight from narita airport to schiphol, and a short and boring train ride from schiphol to rotterdam centraal, i dropped my iphone on the pavement while waiting for a tram to my house. i was not happy, but i accepted it, and i moved on without tears.
when i got home i searched online for iphone repairs. the cheapest i could find was in the area of $180 or € or whatever your currency of choice is. that is unacceptable for a phone that could be replaced for €200 or for free if i signed up for two more years. so, i looked for replacement parts online. i found them on amazon.co.uk, but they wouldn't ship to my dutch address (sometimes amazon will ship to me, other times they won't.). next i tried ebay, and i found a screen replacement for around €21. i got the screen yesterday, and with the guidance of ifixit.com i was able to bring my iphone back to it's former glory. i am pleased with the results.

sincerely,
jim turbert

5.04.2010


originally uploaded by jimturbert.

i think the jet lag is gone. the first day back i was awake and out of bed at 4:30am. now i'm getting up at a more reasonable 7:30/8. it's strange to be back in rotterdam. before going to japan i was an out of place foreigner. when in japan i was way out of place, and when i returned home i thought i was supposed to feel settled and comfortable. instead, i'm back to my limbo position in the world where nothing is quite right.
yeah.
japan was very cool, but also very frustrating and tiring both physically and mentally. we walked a lot, and i was dumb enough to bring a giant heavy camera with me, so i had to carry it everywhere. finding our way on the subway system was challenging, and trying to figure out where we were on a map was also problematic due to the fact that there are no street signs.  aside from those difficulties, it was a good time, and i'd do it again. the food was great, the retail experiences were bizarre and interesting, the temples were old, and the people were super nice. they were nice, but most of them spoke very little if any english, and my japanese is limited to good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and thank you. at one point we were in a restaurant, and we couldn't make it clear that we wanted to drink water. we ended up pointing at the stuff in the aquarium. even after that it took a few minutes.

we went to both tokyo and kyoto. tokyo was a mind-blowing sensory overload while kyoto was a far more manageable experience. kyoto is laid out in a grid, and most streets have some kind of street sign, thus making it easy to find yourself on a map. tokyo had lights everywhere, no street signs, and 8 bazillion residents. it was like times square on steroids minus (most of) the disney. if you plan on going to either of these cities in the future do not assume that two weeks is enough time to see everything. it is not. but that is okay. you don't need to see everything. the ride is part of what is appealing about visiting, if you know what i'm saying. if you don't know, let me know, and i'll try to explain it better.

oh, and don't bring an ancient pentax 6x7 with you.  bring something smaller.

best,
jim