Todd Lyden

Image via Wikipedia Batman finally won an Oscar . Christian Bale took home the gold this year with his supporting performance in " The Fighter ." (Guess which movie is next on my que?) So I thought he would be appropriate for today's installment of epitome Monday. So which performance is his crowning achievement? Is it Dicky in "The Fighter?" I can't say it is because I haven't seen it yet. What about his Batman? " The Dark Knight " and " Batman Begins " are fantastic work. Perhaps you go back even further? " Empire of the Sun " really gave a tip that this child actor was going to become a powerhouse some day. Maybe " Newsies ?" Yes, he was in that. How about the bad guy in " Shaft ?" Yes, he did play against Samuel L. Jackson ! Me? I'm going with "Equilibrium." This is the actiony B-movie that illustrated he had the action chops along with the emoting skills. John Preston has

Image via CrunchBase I've mentioned my CR-48 usage. (Makes me think of Commodore 64 , ah the good OLD days. Still don't have a good name for it other than "Chrome Notebook.) In my last missive, I mentioned Grooveshark . A conversation on Damond Nollan's Blogtalk show prompted me to recommend it and I am doing so again. Since the Chrome Notebook is beholden to the cloud, I've searched for options for music listening. Little did I realize how serious people were about their iTunes. I've NEVER liked iTunes. I downloaded it, but that sucker is such a DRAIN on computers. It was slow clunky and I hated dealing with it. Grooveshark, while slightly clunky, has a simple interface, is fairly intuitive, and pretty much has much of what you are looking for. I've found about 90% of any music I've ever looked for. It allows for easy sharing to Facebook and Twitter. You can easily set up playlists and designate favorites. My only gripe is my fault. They have a mobile

Cover of Playing By Heart For my second installment of this regular post, I wanted to REALLY stir the pot. I covered Robin Williams in the last one, which was more inspiration than true controversy. For this one, I realize most folks associate Mrs. Pitt with her more actiony roles like Mr. and Mrs. Smith , Tomb Raider , or her latest, Salt. Granted, she has done some great straight dramas as well. Gia is where she came to reknown. Maybe you remember Girl, Interrupted ? Perhaps, the Oscar-bait of The Changeling? I would love to see her do more comedies because the first movie I remember her from is the maligned Hackers.  Half teen comedy, quarter action, and quarter badly imagine "hacking" - it made for a good time. However, my epitome performance from Jon Voight 's daughter is Playing by Heart . Playing by wha?  you ask... This ensemble dramedy came out in 1998 and placed Jolie on a palette with Sean Connery , Dennis Quaid, and Jon Stewart (yes, the comedian t

Notice the lacks of the title creatures in the movie poster? I was sorely disappointed by two things I had high hopes for yesterday. One was a book, the other was the movie " Monsters ." The Gareth Edwards , done the cheap, Godzilla -takeoff has earned high praise. It is still floating a 71% on Rottentomatoes.com. It was an interesting premise. Alien creatures landed in Mexico years ago and are impossible to kill off, so they quarantine the area. It's like having Godzilla permanently living in your backyard. Except, this isn't Godzilla's story. This is more like Cloverfield (without the money, bad acting, and shakey cam) because it focuses on the people impacted by the monsters. It may as well have been set in 1990s Bosnia, 1970s Vietnam, or  Civil War America- the impact of the monsters is so tangential to the story it was as if this was just a love story told against the backdrop of ruin and bad location (ie a warzone). The love story isn't all

What would you do to win a copy of "The Now Revolution" the new social media in business book by @ jaybaer and @ambercadabra. I have a copy and will write a review of the book once I give it away. I have no clue what to do, so come up with the contest entry for me. They were running their own for the give away books and I don't want to steal ideas out there. One of my favorites  being @ginidietrich 's. Put your ideas in the comments and I'll justify why I selected one by next week. Related articles Win a copy of The Now Revolution by Jay Baer and Amber Naslund (shuaism.com) oneforty News Roundup: Top 20 Social Media Monitoring Tools (oneforty.com)

photo © 2009 pastorbuhro | more info (via: Wylio ) I have a confession to make.  I despise resolutions.  Ok, that's not much of a confession. Here's a better one. I don't like making plans. I do them. But I don't like it. So in my New Year's post, I might have been telling myself more than anyone, PLAN IT. I think the other thing that needs to be added to that- either a carrot or a stick. It's true, if we don't like doing something either we need to find a reward or punishment that will get us that next step over the hump. I am going to try a reward system (what exactly I don't know, told you I don't like plans). But until then, I think punishment or avoiding it works too. At the beginning of the year,  I made plans  - not resolutions. I've done OK on them. The one I realized that I slacked off in was reading. I do like to read. But I got away from reading a variety of things. I think I wanted to blame it on a variety of things. Partiall

Image via Wikipedia Ok, to stir the pot. I am going to start using Monday for a new regular post. I consider it the best performance of an actor . Which role/movie best used them. Which one is the one that epitomizes that actor? Doesn't mean they won an award for it. Just means they have a good body of work to make comparisons and argue over. Today's actor: Robin Williams.  Click through to see his listing of movies . Tough isn't it? If you were given his name and said, which movie epitomizes him? Which one? I got the idea rewatching a movie thanks to my kids and I am going to make the case for: " Jumanji ." I preface my defense by saying while I have liked him in roles, I think he hasn't had a standout performance in the better part of decade. He had something of dark trilogy around 2002 with One Hour Photo , Death to Smoochy , and Insomnia . He was great, but that was too pidgeon-holed. I can see some folks jumping on to the obvious: Good Will Hu

Image via Wikipedia I have despised virtually every 3D movie I have seen in recent memory with the notable exception of My Bloody Valentine 3D and Spacehunter : Advenures in the Forbidden Zone (admittedly not that recent). But introducing my son to " The Matrix " for the first time this weekend, we both had the same thought at probably the same time. When it was all done, he asks "did they ever show that in 3D?" I was thinking the same thing watching the movie again for the nth time. With all these announced 3D flicks that have ZERO business being in 3D, why not go back and put something in 3D that deserves it? I looked around online and discovered there is a Facebook group lobbying for this! At least one site agrees with me ! In fact, they make some superior suggestions for older films that deserve the 3D treatment well before the next Harry Potter film. I've heard they are already working on the Star Wars movies (Lucas, you whore!) So the question

Make sure you sing that title to Aerosmith 's "Living on the Edge." Been living with the Cr 48 or Chrome OS Notebook for a week now. Doing most of my web work on it when I can. Impressions 1. Reviews online that complain about the hardware need to quit their complaining. This was a FREE prototype. Reviews that complain that the system is wonky, knock it off. This is the beta test!  2. The devil might not have made the trackpad , but some demon did. I finally got the feel of the two fingered scrolling and even got the hang of right clicking with two fingers. However, it was still jumping all over the place! Probably just a hair too big. 3. The webcam and microphone are silly. But then again, I did not pay for them, but then again why include them? 4. The offline experience blows. This was built for the internet and the cloud, when you can not connect to them. Ugh. One glaring drawback that would kill this for any non-serious computer user. 5. Ain't nothi

It's been a little while since I did a CYB- which is essentially my form of Follow Friday.  Here are the previous posts to highlight blogger ati from around the world! This week, I am going highlight some lady bloggers again. First, @wordsdonwrite . Amber is whip smart funny. Has a bio that will make you jealous. And lives in LA (not sure if that will make you jealous).  You can't go wrong with someone who uses Blogger either. Here is one of her more popular posts on the good, bad and ugly of Twitter and one that I really enjoyed. Second, @ericamallison (which I still say in my head as Erica Mallison). I'm going to have a soft spot for anyone named Erica because that is my youngest's name. But this Erica is balancing work, kids, Twitter and blogging! Whew. Check out her talking about work and her kids here . Finally, @maddiegrant (association goddess!) I've been reading Maddie long enough to be able to say diaryofareluctantblogger with a straight face. Another Blog

Jury duty is a service to your community. However, there has be a better way of doing it. I just got my check for spending two days sitting around last week- doing nothing. And that was the same for approximately for 100 people called in Tuesday last week. The check was for $36 bucks YEE HAW! What did I do? We went in and sat down and learned everything that we were supposed to do, and then 12 at time, they took potentials into the jury box to be questioned. That was only the second half of one day- they finished up the first day to inform us we would be needed another day. We learned on the second day after sitting for the better part of a good morning that we were not needed because of procedural and legal issues dealing with the case at hand. It's very frustrating to find the when you want to give back, but you can't. Jury duty is something we're supposed to do but they make it so difficult, so time consuming and such a chore.  No wonder

photo © 2011 Suketu Gajjar | more info (via: Wylio ) Thank goodness for Redbox free codes. I was stumbling through the movies on the screen and was reminded that " Catfish " was supposed to be a cool, weird documentary. It had gotten accolades since premiering at Sundance last year. It was semi-shrouded in mystery asking viewers NOT to tell anyone what it was (Catfish). I still don't know what the title has to do with the movie, but by the end I could have cared less. Reviews have described the film as "jaw-dropping" and "surprising," but you'd have to be asleep for the beginning of the movie not to see how it is all going to play out. I would say that this movie deserves the title "The Facebook Movie" or the " Social Network ." At it's core is how people interact on the internet and how it translates to real life. If you've been online for any length of time, the issues of this movie are not going to be shoc

photo © 2008 Dirk | more info (via: Wylio ) UPDATED (below) By now, you've either seen or heard about the Super Bowl Commercials for Groupon . Head over here to see them. What was missing last night was that they are ATTEMPTING to collect donations for them. The ad as shown online or in front of millions last night had ZERO indication that they were attempting to help Tibetans, whales, or the rain forest. Just that you should feel good about saving money, while those situations were going on. I'll grant that tons of people could have cared less. But many of the deals that Groupon puts out fit the model and customers that are the right people who WOULD donate to these causes, but why would they bother with Groupon to do it. The Tibetan cause will get $300,000 if 1000 of us "buy" $15 of Groupon's Tibetan deal. Kind of defeats the purpose eh? While most Americans could probably careless, think of all the Chinese that are now PISSED at Groupon- right when they were t

One more reason to love Google : CloudPrint. I wouldn't have given it a try EXCEPT I got the new Chrome Notebook and wondered how I would print from it when the time came. The instructions built into the notebook spoke about it, but I decided to give it a shot- sweet moses, I am about sold. It was super simple. Go to the computer connected to the printer. Log into your Chrome and go "under the hood." You will scroll to the bottom and find the Cloud print. It will recognize ANY printers connected to the computer and wham you are set! I logged back into my notebook and was able to print. Took about 3 minutes total. I understand this will work for mobile including tablets! Related articles Introduction to Google Cloud Print (kinlane.com) Print From iOS and Android to Any Printer with Google Cloud Print (wired.com) Google Cloud Print - Print from Anywhere Anytime (searchenginepeople.com) Google Cloud Print lets you print GMail content from your mobile device (macworld.com

photo © 2010 Lisa Norman | more info (via: Wylio ) Decided to take a look at the Oscar nominees. Performance by an actor in a leading role Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions) Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (Paramount) Jesse Eisenberg in “ The Social Network ” ( Sony Pictures Releasing ) Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” ( The Weinstein Company ) James Franco in “ 127 Hours ” ( Fox Searchlight ) Illustrative that I have YET to see a single one of these performances (three kids!). Looks tight and other than Wahlberg in "The Fighter" seems to hit them right. Firth seems the lock . Performance by an actor in a supporting role Christian Bale in “The Fighter” (Paramount) John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions) Jeremy Renner in “The Town” ( Warner Bros. ) Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” ( Focus Features ) Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company) Rush seems like a likely win if Firth is. So glad that Hawkes

I just about gave my wife a heart attack this afternoon opening a non-descript box at lunch time. She had ordered something online and we expected it to be it- some cleaning stuff. It wasn't. It was a Chrome Notebook from Google. I am fairly sure I had a similar reaction to my daughter's birth. Except, I was probably louder this time. I'm not going into an indepth review, other smarter people have done that already. I was just giddy that I got one. Three quick impressions: 1. it's fast. period. open it and it rolls, close it and it's off. 2. the touchpad is from the devil. i finally got the two fingered scrolling to make some sense, but the damn thing still jumps around. i ordered a wireless mouse to ease my pain. 3. i think cloud living will work for internet stuff. i am still trying to find work arounds for certain system based things and why doesn't the flash card work? Otherwise, Google, you beat Santa  this year, well played.

Malcolm Gladwell caused one of those chasms in the internet to open a few months ago when he wrote a piece suggesting "the revolution will not be Tweeted." I took it to task back then here.   My main point was that the BEST tools of the day ARE preferred by those that need them most. " Social media , or the weak networks did not take it down, it was the media being used and the technology. Do you not think that MLK Jr. wouldn't have wanted a Blackberry with all his closest allies  emails and phone numbers on it to get them somewhere fast?" Many better responses are probably below, but I want you to see his reaction to Egypt here. His story is now one of "who cares how the message is out, the message is the important thing." "People with a grievance will always find ways to communicate with each other. How they choose to do it is less interesting, in the end, than why they were driven to do it in the first place." Read more  http://www.newyor

Cover of Moon [Blu-ray] Just finished the Duncan Jones flick " Moon ." Wow. What works - Sam Rockwell - the man OWNS this movie the way Ryan Reynolds had to own " Buried ." And he does so in a way that if revealed would spoil the movie. - the story- the location is original, but the story is a bit derivative of some others, but it works! - special effects- you will believe that you are living alone on the moon... going nuts. - believable- this looks like what a future "Helium 3" mining operation would look like on the moon. - HAL computer voice supplied by Kevin Spacey? Check! What doesn't work- nothing. Thankfully, this guy is working on his second film coming soon. Enjoy the trailer: Related articles Duncan Jones Making His Homage to 'Blade Runner' Next, Not 'Mute' (slashfilm.com) Duncan Jones' MOON follow-up SOURCE CODE gets a trailer! (aintitcool.com) Duncan Jones' Next film will be a Homage to Blad

Cover via Amazon Puxsatawney Phil (which I would legally be killed as previous resident of PA should I have misspelled it) has come and gone. The movie Groundhogs Day is permenantly in our memory, isn't it? It's no major spoiler to reveal that the plot has to do with a man stuck reliving Groundhogs Day. If you haven't seen it, shame on you- it is in the National Film Registry afterall! He does what most people would probably do given virtual immortality- he screws around, messes with people, does generally selfish things. He then progresses to just circumventing the day by inventively killing himself. He eventually breaks out of the time loop of reliving the same day over and over by learning from his mistakes. Are you committing a " Groundhog Day ?" Are you committing the same mistakes over and over? What would it take for you to stop? Related articles Groundhog Day 2011: Punxsutawney Phil photos (pennlive.com) The history of Groundhog Day (telegraph.c