Posted: Sat 6 April, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Creativity, Domestic, Photography, Reviews(ish), Sociable, Thoughts, Travel |
Yesterday involved a trip into London, meeting a friend, and going to see the exhibition of Ansel Adams’ work at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.
I’ve been a fan of Adams’ work for a long, long time, and have a couple of books of his work, but have never really seen any of the original work – so when the exhibition was announced, I knew it was something I wanted to go to.
I’m really pleased that I did go – so many of the photos in the exhibit are absolutely stunning. It sounds odd, but I was surprised by how many were actually really small. Logically I knew that they’re mainly taken on a 4″ x 5″ plate, but when you see the huge landscapes he’s taken, you always imagine them being epic in scale. And some of them are truly epic – prints 3 metres high, and absolutely stunning, including a triptych of photos that graced the foyer of an insurance company in San Francisco.
Honestly, I didn’t know some of the story of his work, of how ground-breaking and radical some of it was at the time, his influence and work on changing from the more ‘impressionist’ style of Pictorialism through to the more modern “Photorealism” and the f/64 movement (partly founded by Adams) for landscapes and so on, maximising the depth-of-field for the maximum detail throughout the frame.
It’s a stunning exhibition – there’s only a couple of prints I didn’t like, and so many that would love to have on my walls.
Posted: Sun 10 February, 2013 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Commuting, Domestic, Driving, Getting Organised, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel, Work-related |
While Mondeo was knackered, I ended up getting a hire car from Enterprise for a couple of weeks.
As it turned out, they gave me a brand new (as in 9 miles on the clock) Renault Megane, which was interesting. Not great, but interesting.
Personally, I really didn’t like the car – I found it deeply underpowered (dangerously so, when it came to overtaking) although once it got up to speed, it stayed there. I’m actually really surprised by it, having looked at the spec and the pricing.
From the look of it, the engine isn’t much less powerful than the one on the Mondeo – so frick knows what it’s doing with it, because the acceleration on it was dirt-poor. When overtaking, you could actually watch the digital speedo click up mile by mile, and by God it took it’s time. The fuel-consumption was also well below the advertised/specced 40.9mpg – the best I got was an indicated 36, which is the same as I’m getting on the Saab.
Finally, it’s been a long while since I felt actively nervous driving a car, but this one managed it. In particular, the drive back from Stockport on Tuesday was decidedly nerve-wracking. The weather was vile, and the car itself felt like a skittish little lightweight tin can, with no protection or security.
I’m glad I’ve tried the car, but I’m also massively pleased to have given it back. I certainly wouldn’t consider buying one.
Posted: Fri 21 December, 2012 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Reviews(ish) |
Today I took my dad to see The Hobbit at their local cinema.
Regular readers will know we did similar with all three of the Lord of the Rings films, so it’s becoming a kind of tradition (and will do for the next couple of years, too)
I had my reservations before the film, knowing that they’ve taken the 400-page book and made it into three three-hour films. That’s quite some padding – although I know they’ve also taken in parts of “Silmarillion” and “Unfinished Tales” to make it into a much larger production.
Having now seen it though, I found those reservations to be well put to bed, it all gels well, and I really enjoyed it.
There’s a couple of bits I don’t like, or that jarred a bit, but all told I’d say 98% of it is pretty damn good.
Hell, it’s almost worth looking forward to Christmas 2013 and 2014 to see the rest of the films.
Posted: Tue 11 December, 2012 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Cinema, Domestic, Reviews(ish) | Tags: #lifeofpi |
Last night, I went to see the new film of Life of Pi. I’ve not read the book – when it comes to films, sometimes I find it’s better to not be locked on ‘it’s not the same as the book’ – so I went with an open mind to see what it was like.
All told, it’s an impressive film – and for the first time, one where I would actually suggest seeing the 3D version, as that added a visual layer which I imagine the 2D version lacks. Certain shots – of Pi watching the ship sink, for example – had an real ‘depth’ to them.
Visually it’s beautiful. There are some stunning scenes, and the vision of the film is exceptional.
Technically, it’s stunning – the CGI for the animals is some of the best I’ve seen, and you do believe that the tiger is there in the boat.
But – ah, there’s always a but. For a film so much about belief, miracle, and wonder, it feels (or felt, to me) soul-less. I’ve had this issue with Ang Lee‘s films before – they’re beautiful, excellent films. It’s just that they have no heart, no passion. Other people’s perspectives vary, obviously, but for me, I just come out feeling somewhat dissatisfied.
All told, it’s worth seeing, and it’s a good film. It’s just not a great film. (Again, in my view)
But I will have to go and read the book now, and see if that adds more to the film…
Posted: Fri 7 December, 2012 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Customer Services, Domestic, London, People, Reviews(ish), Thoughts, Travel |
On BBC currently there’s a wonderful documentary series called “Inside Claridges”. Obviously it’s a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how Claridge’s Hotel runs – and it’s absolutely fascinating, a true “How the other half live”
The entire thing is quite, quite mad – I understand why and how they do what they do, but it really is potty. For example, taking photos of how a suite is laid out when a guest leaves, so that it can be laid out the same way if/when they return to the hotel in the future. I suppose if you’re paying £5,500 per night it’s the kind of invisible thing you expect – and yes, I think paying £5,500 per night is utterly obscene – but to me, it’s also potty.
All told, it’s a really sweet little series, well worth catching on repeats, iPlayer or whatever. It’s what BBC documentaries should be (in my opinion) about – things that the general viewer will never see, the way other people live, even if those lives are completely antithetical to our own.
Posted: Sun 2 December, 2012 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Cinema, Domestic, Reviews(ish) |
Over this weekend, I went to see Sightseers, a new British film. It is very dark, basically about two dysfunctional people who form a relationship, and go away on a week’s caravan trip. Strange – and very British – tourist places merge with a tale of murder, serial killing, and general black humour.
An example line “He wasn’t human, he was a Daily Mail reader”.
I really enjoyed it – it’s not your run of the mill Hollywood offering, which is always a good thing – but I suspect it’s probably an acquired taste. If you like oddball British films, it’ll be right up your street.
Posted: Wed 27 July, 2011 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Geeky, Reviews(ish), Travel, Work-related |
A while back, I bought a Kindle . I’d been playing with the iPhone version for a while, and with the onset of Big Commute, thought I’d give it a thrash.
In general, I have to say I’ve been pretty impressed with it.
On the downside, I’m now on my third one – the displays don’t appear to be strong enough to withstand being carried in a backpack without an additional case. The first one cracked after a couple of weeks, the second one cracked within 24 hours, and the third one has been fine – allbeit because I’ve now got a purple leather case for the damn thing.
Throughout the problems, and the need to replace two devices, I was really impressed with Amazon’s customer services. In both cases, I went to the website, registered the issue, and clicked “Call me now”. Immediately, the phone rang, I was put through to an adviser, and the issue got sorted. The replacement was couriered out (and arrived next day) and I then had 28 days each time to send the broken device back – again, postage paid and done by courier. It was the most painless returns scheme I’ve seen in a very long time – and impressively done.
As for the Kindle itself, it’s a nice bit of kit. The eInk display is a bit slow and weird to update, but you get used to it very quickly. Actually, the entire thing is a bit slow – if you’re used to blipping through options etc., you have to learn to slow down a bit. I think it’s all down to the limitations of the display, but it’s livable-with.
Reading on it is – I find – very simple. No eye-strain (there’s no backlight, so it’s black text on a grey screen) and no problems. The text is clear, regardless of font size, and all told it’s pretty good. Purchasing books is totally painless – click to order the book, and within 30 seconds it’s on the device. Very nice indeed.
It’s not the same as reading a ‘proper’ book- but it’s also a lot less intrusive, and easier in crowded situations. A lot of the books I’m reading at the moment are “trade paperback” size – which seems to mean ‘about the same size as a hardback’ – and on the Tube or whatever, they’d be a pain to read while people thump past all the time. With the Kindle, it’s a lot easier.
All told, I doubt Kindle will replace my books totally. However, when it comes to reading while commuting, it may just make the difference.