I have a new piece of advice to live by, and to add to my list of sage advice, that I will dispense to my kids and (when drunk) to my friends:
Treat posts on social media the way you would treat messages scrawled on a bathroom stall.
This sums up the shithole of information that is the internet, and in particular the current manifestation of it we call “social media”. Maybe one of those “for a good time call <insert your best friend/enemy/ex’s number here>” messages in a truck-stop bathroom is actually from the person whole number is given and they actually are looking for a good time… but a large dose of skepticism will keep you free from venereal diseases, staring on a milk carton or at least the embarrassment of actually talking to someone on the other end of the line about where you got their number.
You read it on social media and automatically believed it? Much of what one reads on social media is like the scrawls on bathroom stalls — caveat emptor. Do you live in a cave and not know this?
Richard Geib
I’m sure a lot of people out there will object that they didn’t automatically believe it, that they did their research… but let me explain the issue with social media research… No, there is too much. Let me sum up:
Remember, he was trying to get off the drugs…
We can add this to the list of sage advice:
If your are going to break the law or betray someone, make sure it’s worth it [confusion.cc]. Canonical example; if you are going to commit fraud or embezzlement make sure you can retire (flee) to a tropical paradise with no extradition treaty. Though there is a caveat: When you steal $600, you can just disappear. When you steal $600 million, they will find you unless they think you’re already dead. ―Hans Gruber
In 2013 I used the iPhone 4S [wikipedia.org] I got in 2011 and a new iPhone 5s [wikipedia.org]. Both are 8 megapixel and output images that are 3,264 by 2,448 pixels, I don’t see much difference in the quality of the photos in general, though Wikipedia lists improvements in the sensor and a lower f-stop for the 5s.
My favorite photo taken on my mobile in 2013 is from the “The Art of The Brick” [brickartist.com] exhibit at the ArtScience Museum [marinabaysands.com] at Marina Bay Sands. The exhibit is comprised of numerous sculptures made entirely out of Lego Bricks by Nathan Sawaya. I’ve always liked Lego and decided before I had kids that Lego would be an important toy for them. As such my daughters have way too many Legos. My younger daughter was only 8 months old, too young for Legos, especially since everything went into the mouth for her at that age… but my older daughter enjoyed the exhibit, though she hardly remembers it today. I didn’t take my DSLR with me the day we went so only mobile photos.
Not only my favorite mobile photo of the year, but this was my favorite sculpture of the exhibit.
Next up, another art work, this one hanging in the atrium at Millenia Walk. An anatomically correct balloon man.
Just hanging around.
Last one for the 4s: this is a good example of getting amazing detail out of the 4s’ camera. Taken on a rainy afternoon at Millenia Walk in the small parking lot where there are always a lot of expensive cars.
Stuttgart
As for the 5s, there are not a ton of photos, given it was late September when I got it. But I’ve picked two that are good.
The first is a shot taken on a business trip to Seattle. After some working sessions in the morning we took a walk down to Miners Landing at pier 57 to get lunch. It had been raining, a light misty rain, most of the morning but cleared up just before we left and the blue skies started to open up as we got to pier 57.
The last mobile photo for 2013 is one that inspired me. I took it while waiting for a coffee one evening at Starbucks. I pointed my camera phone up at the lamps hanging over the counter where the baristas deliver the food and drinks to you and got this:
The first “Looking up at Lamps” photo I took.
I never posted this one but I continued to take photos like this pointing the phone camera up at lamps in restaurants, pubs, shops and anywhere I thought I could get a cool shot. Today there are 58 other shots in my “Looking up at Lamps” [flickr.com] album on Flickr. And you can read more about them in this post here on confusion [confusion.cc].
My younger daughter, who will be nine this month, is a big fan of the MCU. As much as I was a fan of Star Wars when I was a kid. It’s also fun to have someone who wants to watch action movies, as George Lucas said it’s great to have someone who understand explosions. She is eagerly awaiting the release of Black Widow [wikipedia.org] and also Shang-Chi [wikipedia.org]. Black Widow is one of her favorite characters and Shang-Chi is, well, Asian so close to home.
Since the MCU has been on a bit of a hiatus in the age of COVID-19 we have been re-watching the many of the movies. Not all of them but a lot of them, we’ve been in second wave COVID lockdown for the summer school holidays, so movies galore. Last week we made it to the final leg of the “Infinity Saga”; Avengers: Infinity War, Ant Man, Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame.
Captain Marvel is one of my daughter’s favorite MCU characters (can you see a pattern here?). and while I didn’t think Captain Marvel was a great movie, it is fun. And while being a fun movie it managed to server another purpose, it was the first MCU film to have a solo female lead character.
Facebook post at the time, 8 March 2019
Remember that even before the movie came out it sparked a skirmish in the culture wars [forbes.com]? Whatever you think about the controversy the movie was an empowering story for a 6 year old girl. And bravo to Disney for making superhero movies that remember that there are girls out there to who like explosions. I remember reading somewhere, that Disney bought Marvel and Star Wars since they didn’t have properties for older boys but they have not just focused on the boys, they have continued to make stories with female characters, in both supporting and lead roles, that aren’t just damsels in distress or eye candy for their male fans; not just fan service.
If you’re not familiar with “Fan Service” let’s let Wikipedia get you up to speed:
Fan service, fanservice or service cut, is material in a work of fiction or in a fictional series which is intentionally added to please the audience, often sexual in nature, such as nudity. The term originated in Japanese in the anime and manga fandom, but has been used in other languages and media.
Fan Service [wikipedia.org] article on Wikipedia (emphasis mine)
Wikipedia is being nice, mostly it’s a way for media to parade their female characters in the tightest or skimpiest or otherwise sexiest outfits they can. It’s not a new thing, I remember 90’s anime traded on VHS tapes that had “fan service”. And while I’m sure there is fan service targeted at audiences who want to look at guys out there it’s nowhere near as ubiquitous as scantily clad women.
Be honest, almost all “Fan Service” is girls in skimpy outfits…
And speaking of fan service, and getting back to watching the final leg of the Infinity Saga with my daughter, there is a scene in Endgame during the final battle that pissed off a lot of (male?) fans. During the climactic battle there is a scene where all the female superheros of the MCU appear in a single shot. Even watching Endgame in the theater and caught up in the action it felt unnecessary and forced; out of place and in your face. Watching the movie again, at home, for me, it’s worse, it doesn’t fit with the narrative to me and I can see why people see the heavy hand of a studio wanting to be inclusive and “woke” in it. But for my daughter? She loves it, she pauses it and names all the characters.
Endgame was filled with this different, more family friendly, type of fan service: Captain America taking up Mjolnir, proving his worthiness and finally getting to say “Avenger, assemble” being two major examples. Fan service it is, but in a way that takes the term away from it’s sexist roots.
What separates those two scenes with Cap from the (almost) all-the-MCU-ladies shot is that Caps senses served a narrative purpose. I failed to find any purpose in the al-the-MCU-ladies shot. (I did read there was a narrative reason [yahoo.com], but it sounds like it was after-the-fact inserted, so the scene was truly forced, and it’s purpose was not clear to me when watching or re-watching the movie…) I think trying to single out the ladies as a single group at once didn’t work, better to have had more screen time kicking the baddies asses throughout the epic battle (Captain Marvel and Wanda had some good fight scenes but less so the other ladies.)
Anyway I’m getting off topic… the point is that one persons eye rolling, cringe scene can be another persons fan service and inspiration. And as the father of two girls I’m glad they have role models outside of princesses. I’m glad Disney has expanded on the role of female characters in Star Wars and make the women of Marvel more empowered and empowering and less just eye candy for the boys.
