Cinematic Adventures

I agree with Andrew that movies have changed as far as cinematic value is concerned. The aesthetics of society have changed and with that so have movies (or vice-versa?). What was beautiful 50 years ago is now considered outdated, old-fashioned, and, really, I guess kind of prudish. I mean, look at the standards of women in the media. Not to get on a Mc Attack soap box or anything, but just look at how women looked back then. Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, etc. - all those sirens of the screen or whatever. Women do not look like that anymore. Ever. On-screen or off. Men were all decked out in their loafers and sweaters and...you get the picture. People in the real world looked like that (sorta) and so did those in the movies, if on a better and grander scale. People took their time; it was a slower paced society. One could argue so were the camera movements. Maybe that's getting too deep. But now what's the standard of beauty/cute that's being put onto the silver screen? Paris? Jessica Simpson? Hannah Montana? I'm seeing a trend of fake hair here...hmph. Anyway, I'm not saying whether it's good or bad, just throwin' it out there.

But it's interesting to note Andrew's point about the attention span of a child and quick cuts in today's movies. I rather enjoy those big blockbusters that he pointed out, such as Transformers, but I do watch them for what they are - eye candy, mostly. And I can appreciate that. But the quick cuts and fast-paced trailers and fight scenes and things get my blood pumping and my adrenaline going - which is exactly the response that they are trying to get out of an audience. It's the reason that most people go back to the theatre over and over again, especially for the big movies. But I also agree with Andrew that it wouldn't kill Hollywood to make a smart movie with a plot. Or maybe it would.

Future of the Internet

Personally, I just can't wait til we have JARVIS type systems for personal use. I know that's farther than 5 years in the future but wouldn't it be amazing to have interactive holograms in your own home? I mean, c'mon - when Tony Stark stuck his hand in the arm piece, twirled it around, crumpled up plans and threw them in the little holographic trash can, was I the only one that got those sparkly anime eyes and fell in love a little? And the speech recognition part is cool but carrying on a real-time coversation with a computer that sounds human is probably a little farther than 5 years, as well. That takes tons of AI and coding, etc. There are speech recognition programs available and Text-to-Speech programs like Expressivo but I'd like to see them advance even farther.
As far as the next 5 years goes, I guess the mobile device will be the biggest player in the advancement of the Internet. With cell phones, laptops and devices like the iPod Touch all with Internet capabilities and with people constantly wanting to be connected, look something up, get in touch with someone, etc. that's where things will continue to expand. This article talks about mobile Internet devices that will be available as soon as next year. They may even be able to play WoW.

Great.