Capital New York

Steven Boone commented on Hustling the cloud: McDonald's hot spots and the internet jackals of the Apple Store

Thanks for the kind words, y'all. Diogenes, you ol' cynic, you misspelled "whimpering." And, given my mush brained newbie devotion to the fan boi, shouldn't it be "simpering"?

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 12:57pm

Hustling the cloud: McDonald's hot spots and the internet jackals of the Apple Store

One freezing winter night in a Toronto Burger King, I couldn't get on the internet. The restaurant's free wifi simply wasn't working. Another guy a few booths over was having the same trouble on his laptop. We commiserated, but he told me not to worry. More

Postedsdf

By Steven Boone

on March 28th, 2012 10:57am

Steven Boone commented on With a clutch of screenings, Film Forum makes a case for the switch from film to digital projection, and tries to soften the blow

Great article. I first saw Takashi Miike's "13 Assassins" last year at The Picture House in Pelham, where the "projectionist" came into a small auditorium and popped a Blu-Ray into a player. A projector hanging from the ceiling gave us an eye-popping (if relatively smaller) viewing of the film, with crisp, dynamic sound. I was eager to see it again a week later, so I went to Cinema Village, where it was projected in 35mm, and had to ask for my money back. Dark, muddy, greyish transfer to film. And I'm with you, Fred, on the "Blade Runner" final cut. Peeped that at New York Film Festival in '07 and simply could not believe my eyes. We're at the point where digital can bring out what was always there and brush away what was always present but never wanted. That said, the "Five Easy Pieces" example Miranda cites points to a danger, of the digital controls making certain design elements drown out the whole-- similar to a bad sound mix on a song, where production bells and whistles diminish the vocals. It's not the technology, but the heaviness of the hand that uses it.

Posted on March 17th, 2012 12:27pm

Kony 2012: Birth of a Facebook movement

I remember the first time I saw D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915), in a film history class. The film’s climactic sequence, which cuts between a cabin full of white people holding a gang of black thugs at bay and hordes of Klu Klux Klansmen riding to the rescue at full gallop, kicking up dust clouds, is exhilarating. Just as one of the trapped whites makes a move to bludgeon a child to death rather than let her fall into the clutches of the dastardly negroes, the Klan comes tearing through the bush, firing, sending the black militiamen massed outside the cabin on the run. Victory. More

Postedsdf

By Steven Boone

on March 12th, 2012 10:41am

Steven Boone commented on The lessons of Whitney Houston's life and death, as seen on a very small screen

Belated thanks, Houstons, Hudson, Twiddle and Waldo. I appreciate your thoughtful comments. For what little it's worth now, I would like to place here a video link I neglected to add to the final sentence of this ol' piece. A precious relic from the great Gil Noble: http://youtu.be/heJea1_z2Ow I'm big on using links to expand upon a line of argument--a controversial practice surely perceived as lazy by some. But didn't Warhol once say the journalist of the future will be all links? No?

Posted on March 11th, 2012 2:57pm

Steven Boone commented on Please forget what you've heard about 'John Carter' and just watch it

I'm there, man. I've heard nothing yea or nay about the flick, but the trailer was so boring that your review comes as a pleasant surprise. "superb popcorn film" - "tentpoles made by accomplished fans" -- Only enticements such as those could pull me away from watching all the fun fan-made genre flicks on YouTube. Looks like former Pixar animation directors (i.e. Brad Bird w/MI:4) are bringing some flair and personality to live-action skullcrush movies...? BTW, don't you love it when somebody jumps in with a comment like, "Clearly you haven't read the book. In the epilogue of Book IV, page 7, the Triskelions are said to brandish TEAL battle flags, not green..."

Posted on March 7th, 2012 7:37pm

Steven Boone commented on In the land of Walmart, goods are cheap, low-wage jobs are plentiful and outrage is elsewhere

Tricia, the Toronto Walmarts are easier to navigate, as I recall. Maybe it's that the staff is more helpful. I remember getting actual answers to questions in there, haha.

Posted on March 3rd, 2012 9:26am

Steven Boone commented on The lessons of Whitney Houston's life and death, as seen on a very small screen

Spock, I don't moderate or delete comments here. I just write pieces and turn them in to my editor. I welcome all comments, especially critical ones. I've heard others say it's kind of tough getting comments through on here--not censorship, I assume, but something to do with the database. Since you got this one through, I invite you to expand on your one-line dismissal again, if you find time. "Dude, even bad publicity is good publicity." Tell me about it! Next week, I start shooting dope and walking around nekid in public. Career through the roof. But seriously. My own criticism of this piece is that it doesn't connect the dots very well, leaving itself open to such charges as "internalized racism" (what my piece is actually about) and "epic troll" dismissals. But that's a chance I'm willing to take in the interest if experimentation (a.k.a. messing around). Talk to me, Spock.

Posted on March 1st, 2012 2:46pm

The lessons of Whitney Houston's life and death, as seen on a very small screen

Chitterlings are pig intestines, prepared as a meal. They have been a delicacy all over the world, the precise preparation varying according to culture. But in America they are almost exclusively known as an African-American dish—chitlins, in the vernacular. More

Postedsdf

By Steven Boone

on February 29th, 2012 3:32pm

In the land of Walmart, goods are cheap, low-wage jobs are plentiful and outrage is elsewhere

The Walmart in Warner Robins is a fortress. Inside a complex spacious enough to house a good portion of the local air squadron, there is everything one would require to survive and even flourish in the coming apocalypse. From home furnishings to hunting gear to fresh produce to $8 Blu-rays. More

Postedsdf

By Steven Boone

on February 15th, 2012 11:10am