An elevator that takes you from hell to heaven

I subscribe to "Candelight Stories" and today I received an email including a post about a short film created by artist Marco Brambilla for installation in the elevators of the Standard Hotel in New York City. If you choose to go up in the elevator the film takes you from the depths of hell to the artist's vision of heaven. Likewise, if you descend, you travel from the euphoria of heaven to the artist's interpretation of hell. Quite an interesting application of multimedia. This film is in HD, however, so if your bandwidth is marginal like mine (1.5 Mbps DSL) the film will start and stop as it buffers the data download.

Civilization by Marco Brambilla from CRUSH on Vimeo.

Star Trek's Circular Reference Still Computes!

As one of the original trekkers from the 1960s, I couldn't help but look forward to the new incarnation and I was quite pleased with the newest addition to the Star Trek film franchise when I went to see it on opening day. It did not take much adjustment on my part at all to accept Zachary Quinto as a young Spock and I thought Karl Urban really nailed "Bones" McCoy. Chris Pine was suitably brash and swaggering as James T. Kirk but he did not capture my heart like Quinto and Urban.

Much like his character Scotty, Simon Pegg sort of settled into the role when the Enterprise was in dire straights and he needed to be the "miracle worker"! I hope they dispense with the fossilized Ewok though. When I saw him I thought to myself, "Did George Lucas poke his nose into this production?" Star Trek may be a space opera but it has built its fandom on morality plays and stories with adult themes (mostly). We don't need to spoil the franchise with "cute" (and I really didn't find it all that cute anyway). The last thing Star Trek needs is a "Jar Jar Binks" distraction.

Somehow, the bar scene with all the aliens sitting around felt more Star Wars than Star Trek as well.

Eric Bana did an excellent job as a villain but I think it would have added more complexity to the plot if the Romulans of the past had learned of Nero's plans to destroy Vulcan and tried to intervene as well since they were kindred species. I also must admit I prefer my Romulans with hair and more warrior than pirate.

Somewhat of a spoiler ahead...

With the old past supposedly wiped away now, future movies should be less constrained by what has gone before. With Vulcan now gone, I don't know what Spock is supposed to do when his Pon Far rolls around but I'm sure the filmmakers will think of something! Of course the Romulans are still prowling the galaxy so maybe a Romulan princess can ease the pain. Also, like most space/time alterations, this plotline raises the issue of a paradox. Now that the Federation is aware of the time the Romulan sun will go supernova, they can plan to deliver their solution sooner or evacuate the planet sooner which means the reason for Nero to come back in time to destroy Vulcan, etc. will no longer exist so he won't. So then the Federation won't know about the supernova, Romulus will again be destroyed, Nero will come back and destroy Vulcan...in the technology profession we call this a circular reference!

Jessica Davis makes firefighting look fun!

My great niece, Jessica Davis, is studying to be a municipal firefighter in Fairbanks, Alaska. She just finished a Rapid Intervention Technician course through the University there which teaches students how to rescue downed firefighters in a burning building. She said she had so much fun and learned more than she had ever learned in a class.

"We did emergency evacuations which meant we jumped out onto a ladder headfirst and turned ourselves around and slid down the ladder, we hung from a window, repelled from a window, rescued teammates through the floor (Nance Drill) and then one of the hardest, The Denver Drill, which is supposed to simulate a firefighter stuck in a very tight space and trying to get them out of a window with limited manpower."

Go Jesse! We are so proud of you!

Jessica is the daughter of my sister's daughter Traci Davis and Scott Davis of Ketchikan, Alaska. We all trooped up to Alaska a couple of years ago to see Jessica graduate from high school. It was the most fun I have ever had at a graduation ceremony. The Native American students wore their traditional ceremonial robes and many students demonstrated their unique personalities by their apparel and unusual ways they accepted their diplomas. One boy did flips down the full length of the runway to the Superintendent to get his sheepskin. Jessica accepts hers dressed in her Dad's firefighting regalia! We had a wonderful time fishing on a charter boat (we didn't catch much - a small halibut and some rockfish - but I got some great shots of feeding the bald eagles), panning for gold, visiting the Saxman Native Village where I danced with the Native American dancers of the Tlingit tribe, exploring the Discovery Center, shopping in all the tourist shops with people from all the big cruise ships, and barbequeing in the rain! My sister and I and Traci's twin sister Trina also enjoyed The Lettermen in concert. They sang songs from my high school days (like "Cherish" - it sounded as good as the original by The Association!) as well as many recent hits like "My Heart Will Go On" from the blockbuster film "Titanic".

For a complete blow by blow of my trip (and to watch a video of my Native American dancing!) read my post in my Incredible Journeys blog.

Yes We Can! salute Caesar on the Ides

When I was in Rome on the Ides of March this year and went to pay my respects to Caesar's statue that stands along the Via Foro Imperiali, my friend and I saw a huge wreath at the foot of the bronze sculpture of him. This must have been the one referred to in this article. It's too bad we had not been there just a little sooner! As it was, we got to witness a group of American college students dressed in make-shift togas and adorned with wreaths made from plants probably pilfered from a nearby hotel or park. They sang bawdy songs that I'm sure Caesar's tenth legion would have been proud of then gave their somewhat altered rendition of the death scene from Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar" complete with shouts of "Yes We Can!"

"Recently, residents and tourists around the Coliseum watched in awe as a legion of Roman soldiers marched in unison down Rome’s Imperial Avenue.

“Caesar!” called out the commander in Latin as the legion came to a stop. “I, Centurion Lucius Valerius Seianus, have brought your favorite legion here to return the scepter of command to your hands!”

A horn blared as the Centurion placed a large laurel crown on the pedestal of the statue of Julius Caesar, the great Roman general who was stabbed to death in the Forum 2,053 years that day — March 15, or the "Ides of March." - More: Global Post.com

My friend, Patricia Hunter, author of "Immortal Caesar", always brings roses to lay on Caesar's funeral pyre and on his statue whenever she visits Rome. Here, she places this year's offering.

While we were at the statue of Caesar a Roman family approached the statue and the father of the family took out some sheets of paper, held his hand up in salute and began reading a memorial to Caesar while his son respectfully placed his hand on his father's shoulder and raised a salute as well. It was very touching even though I couldn't understand what he was saying. After fifteen minutes or so, though, I told Pat that the man must have decided to recite the entire Commentarii de Bello Gallico so we moved on!

[Photo credits: Top left: Image courtesy of Fulvio Paolocci]; Other photos by Mary Harrsch]

A Holiday Tribute to my Dad

About a month ago, I was asked by an editor to see if I could find a slide from 1978 that I took of helicopter logging in the Cascade Mountains. While I was looking for that slide I stumbled across a slide of my late father calling a square dance in the living room of their home.

Dad always enjoyed calling square dances and over the holidays we would push all the furniture back after dinner and he would give us a dance lesson. Dad loved music and even after he had to give up square dancing he would play his keyboard for hours. We lost him three years ago after a long battle with Parkinson's disease and miss him a lot especially this time of year. So, I decided to try to give my family the gift of seeing him call one more time.

All I had was a still image but I knew I could animate his face and synchronize his mouth to an audio file of a square dance call using a product called CrazyTalk. I didn't have an audio file of his voice either so I used a product called MorphVOXPro to morph my own voice into something more male sounding. I must have recorded that audio track 20 times but I still couldn't make it sound right. It's hard to carry a tune when your voice is being morphed in real time! (I hope you'll forgive me for that Dad.)

I found a music loop of Jingle Bells on the web up at Soundsnap.com and was allowed to use up to five music loops per month as a member with a free account. So I joined this free spirited group and got the music I needed. Then I downloaded a free sound editing tool from Audacity.com to add a prelude to the song since it started right at the point Dad would need to start calling and I thought that was a little too abrupt. I tied everything together and sprinkled in a few transitions using Microsoft MovieMaker. If you want to read all about the trials and tribulations of putting the presentation together, check out my Technology Times and Trials blog!

This was my attempt to give my other family members a gift that couldn't be purchased in any store. I hope they enjoyed the memories.

Cirque du Soleil - KA - Special 10 Min Teaser

I had the privilege of seeing "KA" when I was in Las Vegas attending Photoshop World in September. It is by far the most spectacular stage show I have ever seen. I loved the combination of marital arts, dance, acrobatics, and heroic legend. The Kabuki-style costumes were beautifully designed. The cavernous theater was mindboggling and reminded me of a set for a sci-fi film.

Of course the rotating stage that was often perpendicular to the audience was a technological marvel. My son told me that it was featured in a CSI episode where some victim was crushed by it. I'll have to look for it in CSI reruns.

If you are traveling to Las Vegas, I would strongly suggest you include KA in your adventures. It was the absolute pinnacle of my visit.

It definitely offset my disappointment in the closure of Star Trek The Experience at the Hilton and the Tut Museum at the Luxor.

Impossible Coconut Cream Pie

My niece in Alaska is working on a new family cookbook for everyone for the holidays and asked me to send her one of my favorite recipes. I sent her this one that was handed down from my mother. I love Coconut Cream Pie and the nice thing about this version is that you don't have to roll out any crust. The crust ingredients are mixed into the filling. Then, during the baking process, they sink to the bottom and brown.
Easy but elegant and saves on the mess of preparing and rolling out pastry!


Ingredients:
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
2 c. milk
½ c. flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 stick of margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ c. coconut

Beat eggs and sugar together. Add flour, baking powder, salt, softened margarine, vanilla and coconut. Pour into a 9” pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Just don't forget the flour like I did the last time I made it just before Thanksgiving. My husband called it "soup pie" because it wouldn't set up but it still tasted good so he "slurped up" every bit!