Of all the usernames I’ve collected over the years, there’s none that I’m more proud of than my gmail name.

jasonn.

Simple huh?

The flipside of having such a generic username is the copious amounts of spam I get and misdirected emails. I once even got access to someone’s myspace page (I assume they mistyped their email address when registering).

Usually I find myself registered with strange newsletters, sent emails about group outings or even sent receipts from purchases I never made. I try to discern between the ones truly misdirected and those that are spammers trying to covertly get me to reply. I have to admit, they’re getting pretty creative with their hooks.

Then I got this:

Spam or real? I don’t think I’ll be inviting her to chat.

Filed under Random on Sunday, January 10th, 2010

Chuck! My new favourite show. It’s lighthearted (and farfetched) fun. Complete escapism for a Thursday night on foxtel.

Of course, HIMYM. The greatest show ever! It’s into season 5 and has only gotten better and better.

Filed under Random on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Or one.

Filed under Random on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

I saw Up tonight. One of Pixar’s best films so far.

There was a surreal silence during certain moments. It was almost profound, as if you could sense the film speaking to every single heart sitting there.

Up is a film about innocence, youth, our dreams, goals and aspirations. The obstacles life throws in the way of those dreams and how our lives skew unexpectedly off course.

It touched on the idea that sometimes our greatest adventures aren’t the grand gestures we imagine would radically change our lives, but rather take a more subtle form. Emerging slowly, through an almost unnoticeable culmination of average days – Seemingly invisible on a micro level, only apparent in retrospect.

The moments where the main character Carl reflects on his life – what he wanted to do with it compared to what he actually did do are the real heart of the film. That’s where those profound, resonating moments with the audience really stood out.

Definitely worth seeing.

Filed under Random on Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

Image stabilisation – Chinese style

Recently I’ve been checking out photography. If there’s a couple of things I’ve learnt it’d be this (in order of significance):

1. Focus on the artform – shooting, composition, developing an ‘eye’.




2. Lenses – When buying a camera it’s all about the lens system. Decide which brand lenses you like and design an upgrade path that suits your finances/creative needs.




3. Body – For a beginner that just wants to take good photos, any DSLR is a big step up from a point and shoot. Advanced features like HD video, 11 point AF and ISO 12800 are moot.

Despite knowing this, before I splash out the cash I continually ask myself if I’m seeing the big picture (pun intended) – lest be doomed to buying a highly advanced paperweight.

Filed under Random on Sunday, September 20th, 2009