Science Heroes
This is an exciting week. In my mind I thought the launch would not happen again and didn’t place much stress on what was happening. It did not hit me until a friend messaged me with the word ‘Launched’. I started to scrabble because I thought I waiting for the Nasa live stream to start with 72K other people on youtube. Turned out it was just not working for me so missed the live launch. I still wanted to experience the history in the making so I decided to just watch it with a 10 min delay on my phone since the stream was working there. I have always wanted to experience a launch in person and someday I will. I will rent a camera with a long lens and since on top of my car an capture science. One day.
I hope that the mission of Artemis II is a success and I wish for a safe return for all the astronauts back home.
Mac Me
A new m5 mac mini cannot get here sooner. I really want to replace my main mac mini m1 and retire it to my 3D printer. I am also really looking forward to a OLED macbook pro with a touch screen. If apple let’s us use a apple pencil with a laptop then it would be a nice upgrade computer from a iPad pro m1 I have been using. I also have been thinking about switching to the latest iPad pro M5 for that sweet sweet LG Tandem OLED screen. I watch movies and shows mostly not on a TV so the iPad would be a nice TV upgrade at the same time. But if the OLED macbook hits all the requirements it might be in the running for better than iPad pro.
Currently I have a intel iMac (not sure if it’s 5K) sitting next my 3D printer. It is also a small business shipping computer next to all the shipping supplies. I wanted to convert it into a monitor but not sure if that will happen. I keep thinking about the logistics of doing getting it done time to time. It is a nice designed piece of tech that I want to keep alive as a monitor. I feel like while I am writing all this I am convincing myself to do it. I don’t want to place a cheap hp/dell monitor there and I don’t want to buy a new apple studio display for a mac mini M1 either.
I need to believe in myself and just do it.
‘Predator Badlands’ Movie Review
It’s interesting to see how Predator as a brand has traveled from something distant and scary to something familiar enough that the audience feels empathy for Dek the alien. The VFX tech has gotten really good and that gives the production permission to tell a story about the predator where we see and feel the emotions from a very alien main character. Previous renditions of predator had to hide behind a mask for production cost reasons so the story was more centered around a human actor. Now we can go to Yautja home world and learn about them intimately. And follow them throughout the movie as the main character.
Badlands is an extremely refreshing take on the predator genre. It feels equal in my mind James Camerons Avatar movies in a way. We travel to a world with a ecosystem that is very foreign yet our main character has to learn to adapt and become one with nature. Sounds familiar and I loved it.
Felt entertaining to watch throughout the whole ride. Not overall gory movie which was surprising for a Predator movie. Don’t get me wrong there is gore but felt motivated by story rather than just because they can. I am interest in finding more behind the scenes and studying the VFX work that went into this movie. Framestore did put a video breakdown for some parts of the movie. Still wondering if there were other VFX houses that helped out.
Interested in seeing where they take the sequels in the future. Not sure if they can do better but I will hold out hope.
Overall I give the movie 8/10. Will watch it again when I have a larger OLED screen.
Garden with no grass [ Update 1 ]
I have been wanting to start a clover garden journey. Always being pushed to the back of line. Not sure if it will happen this year even. But I need to start this project post as a reminder to keep trying to update it.
Where to start. There are so many kinds of clovers out there, and this is one of the reasons I have not started because of decision fatigue. My wife and I love out forest looking yard that gets regularly visited by cute forest bunnies, fox’s, and even deers. We are in Zone 8 so let’s start there. Also I am going to use google ai to search because I really don’t want to get stuck in decision fatigue again. I really just need to jump in with seeds best suited for my zone.
White Dutch Clover
Seems that is the one clover seed type I need to aim for. I like the idea of micro clovers but there is a chance they cannot handle the summer heat in my area. Also I definitely want clover flowers…for the bees 🐝
Also going to be looking at some evergreen options like Dwarf Mondo Grass which I have already planted some before and Creeping Thyme which look to have some really pretty flowers.
Creeping Thyme
Dwarf Mondo Grass
‘Sinners’ Movie Review
Been wanting to watch ‘Sinners’ for a while now. I have had it in possession for months but never got around to watching it until now. The Oscars really kicked it back into front of my attention. Took a few days because of my work loads but I did finish it finally after a few days.
Overall I really liked it. I want to preface though that I mainly wanted to watch it because of the Oscar for Cinematography (Autumn Durald Arkapaw). I need to rewatch all the night scenes on a really nice large OLED screen. I watched most of the movie on my phone OLED screen. The super natural characters being lit in the night sky with the one light felt so fresh and real. Amazing tenebrism. I need to rewatch some of the twin scenes as well. The art of compositing in Sinners is peak. I definitely will be watching some behind the scenes on how they did accomplished some shots.
The story was interesting. There was a nice mix of fantasy and reality. It took me out when the magic caused by music pulled in souls from the future. For that matter the whole vampire/magic angle in the movie feels good but only important as a attention catcher in marketing and trailers. As always as with most movies nowadays I wish Coogler had more breathing room to build out the world just a bit more. Maybe in Sinners 2.
Overall I give the movie 9/10. Will watch it again.