by Suw on February 23, 2005
Very awake.
Very, very awake.
But that's ok, cos then I get to watch the latest A-ha video, er, I mean, the trailer for A Scanner Darkly, and way cool it is too. It uses the rotoscope technique to turn live action into animation, so what you see is an uncomfortable cross between reality and unreality – exactly what a Philip K Dick adaptation needs, if you ask me. The animation also allows things to happen that otherwise couldn't without having to create realistic CGI effects, but I think that's just icing. The reason it was used was to create discord and surrealistic feelings. You really want to see beneath the animation to the live action that you know is below it, but you can't, and at every turn you think that maybe it's going to turn live-action in a second, but it doesn't, and that makes you feel sort of itchy and frustrated. Or maybe that's the caffeine I've been ingesting all day. Either way, it's a great trailer and I can't wait to see the film.
by Suw on February 23, 2005
(Written Monday)
One of the things I really hate about airports is that you don't know where things are until it's all too late to change your meeting up arrangements to something more sensible than the ones you made which were based on assumptions that don't hold because the people who design airports are idiots.
I'm waiting in Terminal 1 at San Francisco for my friend Maciej to arrive. I specified Terminal 1 because that's where my documentation said my plane would be landing. Having followed the signs to the 'Arrivals Lobby', however, I ended up at the International Terminal. We'd landed 15 mins early, and I had arranged to meet Maciej at 10.45, on the uninformed assumption that it would take me an hour or so to get through customs, but all that customs malarkey was done in Canada so it actually took me no time at all to leave the terminal but a good half hour to find what could loosely be described as the 'arrivals hall' at Terminal 1. (In fact, it is a bunch of baggage carousels, six seats and one unmanned Information area.)
Later… Met up fine with Maciej. Spotted him a mile off, actually, despite having never met him before. I don't know what it was, but I could just tell it was him even from a distance.
Anyway, as you probably spotted from the last post from Danny's laptop, lunch was great. It was so much fun to meet up with Dave, Danny and Maciej and to be able to talk geek. Again. I just don't get enough face-to-face geekery in my life at home.
I got my fix of edemame too – and they were really nice edemame as well. Then went for miso soup and then tuna sushi and some rolls. I could really get into this Japanese food thing.
Still, all good things come to an end, but it was rather hard to prise myself away and go check in at the airport. Got one of those swanky new planes with the entertainment-on-demand systems so I will be watching a variety of things* that I've been wanting to see for a while on the way home before attempting to sleep.
Amused to see that, after the success of Shaun of the Dead (note to the Virgin Atlantic magazine editor, it's 'Shaun' not 'Sean'), Virgin are now showing selected episodes of Spaced. Excellent! The more people who experience Spaced, the more chance of a repeat on Channel 4 and the bigger the chance that maybe, just maybe, they'll do a third series.
See, my logic is unassailable.
* Ended up only watching Super Size Me, whilst I tried to choke down the most disgusting dinner I have ever been served on a plane. Luckily, dinner came after I'd seen the bit where he spews up out of the car window.
Back now, obviously, and trying to catch up on unposted blog posts, not to mention unFlickred photos and unanswered emails. Eep.
