The World of McIllwain

(M AE K – ih l – w ai n)

Internet Entitlement

Feb 6

Posted by Josh in rant, technology | No Comments

I noticed something interesting these last few days…  If you’re unaware (or totally oblivious), Facebook has been rolling out changes yet again to their main site.  It seems they are notorious for doing this at least once a year, and sometimes the new changes haven’t been very intuitive.  However, this last round of updates to the user interface has been nothing short of fantastic.  Notifications, messages and events are all conveniently accessible from the side bar without having to even navigate away to a different page.  It’s very smart, and is a welcome change to the otherwise drab layout of the home page.

However, just like every time before, this hasn’t stopped throngs of people from raising their voices in protest, criticizing not only Facebook but the creators as well, and silly fan pages claiming that the site should be reverted back are popping up as well.  All of this made me realize… Why do people on the Internet feel like they are entitled to so much, especially to a free service?

I could possibly understand if people were paying a premium to have access to the site, and felt that their voices (and dollars) should count.  That’s a bit reasonable.  But for a free social networking site?  To be honest, I don’t know why people think their opinion on some layout change is that important.  I also don’t quite understand why people get so upset about it either.

For some reason, people don’t like change, especially to something they love and are familiar with.  Even if the changes are for the better, people become frustrated when they can’t immediately do the same action they used to have memorized before, instead of finding the new (and much simpler) way of doing things.  Are people that addicted to Facebook that one simple UI change can cause them so much frustration?  I know what will happen:  People will get used to the changes, just like they have before, and they’ll forget they were ever upset.  But still, the fact that people get so bothered in the first place makes me feel… weird.  It’s just a website, people.  If you’re that annoyed, then quit.

It’s not just Facebook that experiences this, but any popular site that has many regular visitors.  Whenever there is change, the first reaction is to panic.  Again, it’s silly, and I can’t help but wonder why people feel they are so entitled to having their favorite websites stay in the same layout and format for years and years?  If it were up to the common people, I’m sure Facebook would be stuck with the old, clunky UI from several years ago, simply because people wouldn’t want to alter what they are familiar with.  But people don’t realize that most changes aren’t simply cosmetic.  A lot happens under the hood, so to speak, and with each of these updates, our favorite websites are becoming more and more compliant with new web standards and features.  In return, that gives us access to cooler applications to tinker with, such as the beloved FarmVille and other games.  Without changes, we would have never seen applications that are now (sadly) being played by millions worldwide daily.

So next time your favorite social network, gossip central or message board gets an overhaul, take some time to really find out what has changed before you whip out your “Internet Entitlement” badge… Which, by the way, also makes you look like a spoiled 12 year old kid.

Until April Update!

Jan 30

Posted by Josh in Until April, music | 1 Comment

Folks… I didn’t think this day would ever come.  But I actually have news about Until April’s album that we’ve been recording (for over 2 years now… but who’s counting?)

Today, we received our very first mix of one of our songs, “Black Hearted Days.”  Now, for those unfamiliar with sound engineering, let me try to explain it to you real quick-like:

The very first step a band has to do is record their music.  When you hear the audio straight from the recordings, with no tampering done what-so-ever, you are listening to raw audio.  Usually it’s very rough and uneven in volume.  We finished editing our music awhile ago, which was the last step we completed.  That means we’ve taken the raw audio, and removed all of the unnecessary noise and instrument tracks that we didn’t need or want.  Then we tightened it all up to sound nice and syncopated, but the sound that you still hear is raw.  However, mixing is when the producer starts not only adjusting the volumes of each individual instrument or vocal track, but adds effects, layers and patches that changes how it sounds.  This is how you get the album-sound that every professional recording has.  Mixing is one of the very last steps to a completed product.

Well, we are in the middle of the mixing stage, and it’s incredible to be almost done.  And not only that, but I am so impressed with the results so far!  Our first mix sounds awesome, and it’s still not even finished yet!  It’s pretty close though and is a great representation of what the final track will sound like, outside of mastering of course (which is the last step, and involves encoding the tracks at a certain bitrate to drastically improve the clarity and volume of the song… essentially.)

If all goes well, we could be finished mixing by the end of March, which isn’t far.  This is exciting people!  We just want this album to be done, and I’m glad that many of you have been a part of the journey.  The wait won’t be too much longer!

Top Movies of the Decade!

Jan 21

Posted by Josh in movies | 1 Comment

Yes, here it is folks.  My 20 personal picks for my favorite films of this last decade.  Let me tell you… It was really hard to narrow this down.  There are plenty of movies that I wish could make the cut, but they were just not meant to be.  Movies like Garden State, Atonement, United 93, There Will Be Blood, The Wrestler and The Dark Knight are all fantastic movies, but I decided to cut it off at 20.  They’re amazing movies, but I just feel like these were slightly more impacting on me.

Anyway, here we go!  And again, they’re not ranked, just listed in order of year of release.

TOP 20 MOVIES of the DECADE

1.  Almost Famous (2000)
2.  Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
3.  The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
4.  Spirited Away (2001)
5.  Amélie (2001)
6.  Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
7.  City of God (2003)
8.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
9.  The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
10.  The Incredibles (2004)
11.  Shaun of the Dead (2004)
12.  Stay (2005)
13.  The Prestige (2006)
14.  Children of Men (2006)
15.  Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
16.  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
17.  No Country For Old Men (2007)
18.  Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
19.  The Hurt Locker (2009)
20.  (500) Days of Summer (2009)

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All 20 of these movies are incredible for some particular reason.  However, my personal pick for the very best is an obvious choice if you know me well.  That movie is Almost Famous.  It’s not only my choice for the best of the decade, but my personal favorite movie of all-time.  I receive no greater satisfaction from any other movie than I do with this one.  And I’ve discussed my reasons why many times with many people, but if you want to know in greater detail why I feel the way I do about it, ask me sometime.

Anyway, what do you think?  Agree/disagree with this list?  Anything I should’ve added or removed?

Top 10 Movies of 2009

Jan 20

Posted by Josh in 2009, movies | 5 Comments

Here it is, after much procrastination, my “Best Movies of 2009!”

Enjoy.

TOP 10 MOVIES of 2009

10.  STAR TREK (J.J. Abrams)

9.  DISTRICT 9 (Neil Blomkamp)

8.  WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE (Spike Jonze)

7.  AVATAR (James Cameron)

6.  MOON (Duncan Jones)

5.  UP IN THE AIR (Jason Reitman)

4.  INGLORIOUS BASTERDS (Quentin Tarantino)

3.  UP (Pete Docter)

2.  THE HURT LOCKER (Kathryn Bigelow)

1.  (500) DAYS OF SUMMER (Marc Webb)

It’s been quite a fantastic year for movies, much improved over the last couple of years in fact.  Many great movies came out to close out the decade and I’m glad that I was able to experience almost all of them.  There are still a small handful of films that I haven’t seen, like Precious and A Serious Man.  But overall, I still feel confident in saying that this year was really great.

One of the biggest surprises came from the revitalization of the sci-fi genre that occurred.  Star Trek was a huge success, despite all of the many roadblocks and devastation it could’ve been.  It was able to please hardcore fans of the series while bringing in many new ones, a feat that is incredibly difficult to pull off for any series let alone Star Trek, the one that has the most notorious fan-base.  But things only got better with the releases of District 9, Moon, and Avatar.  These movies have shown that people will definitely eat up science-fiction, as long as isn’t hokey like most has been in the past.  District 9 put a whole new spin on the genre and it definitely reaped the rewards as people loved it, including myself.  Count on seeing a huge resurgence of sci-fi films in the next couple of years to capitalize on the success of Star Trek and Avatar.

Speaking of Avatar, I am so glad that it lived up to the intense hype.  I was pretty nervous that it wouldn’t.  And while it’s definitely isn’t the “best movie ever made” like I’ve heard others (read: nerds) exclaim it is, the movie is still an absolute blast.  And it seems the rest of the world agrees, since it is making an absurd amount of money.  It hurts my head to even think about it.

While we’re still on the sci-fi mindset, I want to quickly bring up Moon.  It’s such a sleeper hit, because literally no one heard of it.  Sony barely pushed it at release, and even snubbed its Oscar chances by not sending out screeners to Academy voters.  However, Sam Rockwell is absolutely astounding in it and is definitely deserving of “Best Actor.”  The movie is essentially a one-man show (minus the voice of Kevin Spacey) and it’s amazing to think of how he carried it all while keeping it engaging and gripping.  Moon is definitely one of the best thrillers to come out in awhile, and is one of the best sci-fi films to be released in a long time.

Where the Wild Things Are was great, though not what myself or most people expected.  It was a lot slower and more thoughtful than I anticipated.  However, the beautiful imagery, soundtrack and themes really connected with me and I was able to appreciate it for what it was.  I definitely understand that it’s not for everyone though.

Up, Up in the Air, and Inglorious Basterds are all amazing and completely wonderful films.  Especially Up.  Pixar can seemingly do no wrong, as they release one of their very best and the best animated film this year.  Though Fantastic Mr. Fox is close, but it didn’t quite crack the top 10.  It’s probably around 11 though.

I went back and forth on the number one spot this year.  Technically, The Hurt Locker is as close to a perfect film as it can get.  Everything about the movie is so technically solid and airtight that I’m really hoping (and it’s looking obvious) that it will win Best Picture at the Academy Awards this year.  Not a single second of film is wasted and we are treated to some of the most realistic, nerve-wracking and intense moments in any film, let alone within the overdone modern warfare genre.  The message is sobering and incredibly impacting as well.  I was thinking about the movie for days after because I couldn’t get it out of my head.  I rarely ever use this word because it’s used way too much in most circles, but The Hurt Locker deserves it; the movie is brilliant.

However, my personal favorite of 2009 was by first time director Marc Webb (who will now be directing the next Spider-Man movie of all things.)  (500) Days of Summer quickly became one of my new all-time favorites, especially after the third viewing.  The movie is full of subtleties that are easy to miss the first (or second) time around.  In fact, the movie is almost designed to be watched a second time to really get everything possible out of it, based purely on the opening of the movie alone.  Without the knowledge of what happens throughout the plot, the intro seems insignificant and not important.  However, the first few minutes almost tell more than the entire movie does.  It’s incredibly smart, and the movie itself is hilarious as well.  It’s funny, thoughtful, emotional, all wrapped up in a pretty package.  Also, it employs one of the most creative film techniques I’ve ever seen, and I’m really surprised it has taken so long for someone to think of it.  (I’m talking about the “Expectations/Reality” scene in particular if you’ve seen it.  Not only is it really cool, but that one scene summarizes every single part of the movie at once.  It’s mind-blowing.)

So there you go.  What are your picks?

The Best Albums… Remix!

Jan 16

Posted by Josh in 2009, music | 10 Comments

OK, let’s try this again.

I kind of jumped the gun on making my “Best Albums” lists a couple of weeks ago.  In that time, I’ve already changed a few things, and discovered a couple of more albums that deserve a place on the list.  And not only that, but I’ve been listening to a lot of music lately from the last few years and I realized I completely overlooked a few that would easily be a part of the best of the decade releases.  So let’s just say those previous lists were tentative, and these are the definitive lists.  They’re definitely final…

For now.

BEST ALBUMS of 2009

1.  Light – Matisyahu
2.  Fiction Family – Fiction Family
3.  Wilco (The Album) - Wilco
4.  The Resistance – Muse
5.  The Hazards of Love – The Decemberists
6.  Swoon – Silversun Pickups
7.  The Incident – Porcupine Tree
8.  Farm – Dinosaur Jr.
9.  Far – Regina Spektor
10.  Black Clouds and Silver Linings – Dream Theater

This was an interesting year for music.  While many pop groups still create singles and push for the iTunes-driven market of people gobbling up one song at a time, several bands have been going back to the basics.  Instead of releasing catchy singles, some of the albums this year have been entirely album-driven.  And not only are bands going this direction, but the market is beginning to as well, with Apple unveiling the iTunes Albums concept earlier this year.

The best examples of album-centric releases are from Porcupine Tree and The Decemberists.  In their latest albums, the bands tell a narrative that flows from the opening track to the finale.  It makes it difficult to find individual songs that really stand out because the same melodies will be reused multiple times throughout, similar to a symphony with clear overtures and themes.  However, the albums as wholes are fantastic when consumed in their entirety, which can be debated that is how they are exactly designed to be used in the first place.  They might not catch your attention the first time, but as you listen to them repeatedly, you begin to discover many nuances and layers that you didn’t realize existed before.  It’s an incredibly challenging yet rewarding method of creating music.

The biggest surprises this year for me were Light by Matisyahu and Farm by Dinosaur Jr.  The reason is that I’ve listened to previous albums by both groups, but I never was huge fans of them.  They were entertaining to listen to once in awhile, but that’s about it.  However, especially in Matisyahu’s case, their latest attempts are huge leaps and bounds over their previous work.  Light is an album that started off fairly low on my “Best Of” list when I first heard it.  However, over the months it has slowly climbed higher and higher, especially in the last few weeks.  I decided to play it while driving and the track “So Hi So Lo” came on.  Something clicked.  I starting hearing things I hadn’t heard previously.  I started paying attention to the lyrics more.  Suddenly, I discovered an album that is so incredibly rich with layers of not only musical creativity and genius, but lyrical significance as well.  Almost every track has a message or moral behind it that is poignant and well established, combining Matisyahu’s signature blend of rock and rap styles to create a beautiful fusion of genres.  If you haven’t heard it yet, you really should.  It’s definitely the best album to come out in 2009 in practically every single way.

And Fiction Family’s self-titled album was a mistake for not belonging on the original list.  I thought it was a 2008 album, but it actually came out in January of ‘09.  It is at the top, as it is such a great freshman release from the Sean Watkins, Jon Foreman collaboration.

And now, here is my updated ” Decade” list.  I don’t foresee this changing at all, especially with the change to the number one spot for this last year.  And remember, they’re not ranking in any way.  I simply listed them by year of release, as it would be too hard to place them any other way.

The albums that are new to this list over the old one are in bold.

THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE DECADE

20.  Light – Matisyahu (2009)
19.  Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)
18.  Oracular Spectacular – MGMT (2007)
17.  Fear of a Blank Planet – Porcupine Tree (2007)
16.  Under the Iron Sea – Keane (2006)
15.  Eat, Sleep, Repeat – Copeland (2006)
14.  The Crane Wife – The Decemberists (2006)
13.  Eager Seas – Watashi Wa (2006)
12.  Takk… – Sigur Ros (2005)
11.  Why Should the Fire Die? – Nickel Creek (2005)
10.  Come On, Feel the Illinoise! – Sufjan Stevens (2005)
9.  Hide Nothing – Further Seems Forever (2004)
8.  Funeral – The Arcade Fire (2004)
7.  Futures – Jimmy Eat World (2004)
6.  The Final Straw – Snow Patrol (2003)
5.  Transatlanticism – Death Cab For Cutie (2003)
4.  Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco (2002)
3.  Origin of Symmetry - Muse (2001)
2.  Electric Boogaloo – Five Iron Frenzy (2001)
1.  Parachutes – Coldplay (2000)

Late Night Wars, pt. 4

Jan 14

Posted by Josh in Conan O'Brien, news, television | No Comments

Wow. This drama unfolding about the current state of late night shows has been entertaining to follow, but now it’s not fun and games anymore. Things are starting to get really ugly, and as this article points out… There’s really only one man to blame. He also happens to be the one guy mainly responsible for the gradual decline of NBC over the last several years. His name is Jeff Zucker.

[courtesy of deadline.com]

———————————————————————-

NBC Universal, faced with Conan O’Brien’s defiance, is taking what insiders tell me is “a super tough threatening position” over his refusal to host The Tonight Show at 12:05 AM instead of 11:35 PM. “Someone’s got to show NBCU that big greedy corporate ****heads can’t win,” one of Conan’s manager-agent-lawyer-public relations ”Team Conan” representatives told me. And while Jeff Zucker has not stepped up and taken responsibility for this mess he set in in motion in the first place — by replacing Leno with Conan O’Brien as host of The Tonight Show even though Jay was No. 1 in his time slot at the time — he’s been busy behind the scenes. I’ve already reported how Zucker has been privately blaming Conan for the current debacle, saying “He let me down” because The Tonight Show for the last 7 months since O’Brien took over has been losing out to David Letterman in both eyeballs and advertiser-coveted demographics. (Bull****, Zucker, you can’t keep blaming others for your Zuck-ups.) Bad enough that Zucker made Conan hear about the planned move in the first place from the media.

But now the NBCU chief has been talking tough during the negotiations with Team Conan. To counter O’Brien’s principled public statement which the late night host issued this week, Zucker “is threatening to ice Conan”, according to his reps. “Zucker said, ‘I’ll keep you off the air for 3 1/2 years.’ Which doesn’t have a chance in hell of happening. What I really think Zucker wants is to hold him off the market for at least six months to a year until the dust settles and Leno is secure and Conan is squelched.” One rep even compared Zucker to “Darth Vader” because the NBCU chief “has been so evil” about this.  

According to NBC’s stated plans, The Jay Leno Show would leaves its unsuccessful primetime 10 PM time slot on February 12th, and then move to 11:35 PM after NBC finishes broadcasting the Vancouver Winter Olympics on February 28th. That’s when The Jay Leno Show arrives in late night, and Conan’s show pushes back by 1/2 an hour. To NBC’s way of thinking, it can kill two birds with one stone: it won’t have to pay Jay that hefty $80 million penalty for taking The Jay Leno Show off the air because the program has “merely” moved timeslots. And it won’t have to pay Conan that fat $60 million penalty for removing him from The Tonight Show because that program, too, has “merely” moved timeslots. But, as David Letterman so succinctly put it this week, “At 12:05 AM, that’s not The Tonight Show, that’s The Tomorrow Show! As I’ve written previously, the Pottery Barn rule is applicable here: “You break it, you buy it.” It could and it should cost NBC.  

But I’ve learned O’Brien’s reps now believe that Zucker wants to jettison Conan altogether and put Jay back at The Tonight Show at its usual starting time. So, to prevent O’Brien competing at NBC or elsewhere with Leno’s attempt to lure back his late night audience, NBCU’s Zucker has come up with this plot to “ice” Conan for the length of his NBC Tonight Show contract. It’s dastardly, it’s cowardly, and it could be damn effective. But there’s no way Team Conan says they’re going to let that happen. Bad enough NBCU horribly humiliated Conan and, as he so rightly pointed out in his statement, will damage The Tonight Show by moving it down a half-hour. With the 12:05 AM start, its ratings will never recover. After NBC made that decision, the phones at his WME agency rang off the hook with calls from every network, cable, and pay channel looking to hire O’Brien. And there’s every reason for him to flee. But, if Conan exits voluntarily or involuntarily, it will take at least a year before a new show is readied and on the air. He risks losing his fan base during that time. And he’ll be forever tagged by the failure. So now it’s open warfare between NBC and O’Brien’s reps.

Zucker’s hardline stance became evident during that 1:45 PM Tuesday meeting at NBC Universal this week shortly after Conan issued his statement of defiance. On one side of the room were NBCU bigwigs Jeff Gaspin and Marc Graboff. On the other were O’Brien’s reps: manager Gavin Palone, WME agent and board member Rick Rosen, and the newest member of Team O’Brien, Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who was hired last Sunday and is WME’s legal shark of choice. Not attending were Zucker (hiding back in NYC), or WME boss Ari Emanuel (leading the WME retreat in Rancho Mirage). One of Hollywood’s toughest negotiators and the model for Entourage agent Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven, Ari. Even so, Gavin can be as mean as a rabid dog, Rick’s agency reps 60% of the TV talent, and Glaser is a pitbull. For them, this kind of mano-a-mano negotiation is bloodsport. But even they were shocked by Zucker’s scheming.

“Patty came in and said, ‘You can’t do this.’ They claim they can legally, but everyone knows it’s ambiguous. The contract is not clearly expressed and they are misinterpreting it,” one of my sources related. ”So everything now is at a standstill. There’s been a proposal, and a counter-proposal. This will end up in front of a judge if someone [at NBCU] doesn’t wise up.”

I’d learned both NBCU chief Jeff Zucker as well as Gaspin were told about Conan’s statement publicly promising to protect the integrity of The Tonight Show he’d inherited. It made Zucker furious.  O’Brien’s reps didn’t want O’Brien to speak out. “They were not thrilled. They told him it would undercut his negotiating leverage,” one source revealed to me. “But Conan wouldn’t listen to them. He wanted to make it.” And yet, because of the controversy, O’Brien’s Tonight Show ratings have risen. While Leno hasn’t received a similar bump, Conan’s number went up to 1.9 in the overnights. Certainly, that has to give NBC pause, right? Apparently not. Sources tell me there’s only “the slightest of chances” that Zucker will relent and keep O’Brien and The Tonight Show intact at 11:35 PM. As for Conan, if he’s released, he wants to ensure his executive producer Jeff Ross and other staff who moved out from New York to Los Angeles “are taken care of”. As for himself, ”he’s not thinking about strategy. He’s saying, “I just want enough money to feed my family.’”

Late Night Wars, pt. 3

Jan 13

Posted by Josh in Jimmy Fallon, funny, television, videos | No Comments

I don’t know if this is related to the late night shuffle going on at all, but last night’s Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was probably the best episode he’s done to date. Maybe he’s stepping up the quality in the midst of NBC late night scares, but reasons like this might actually make me watch his show. I’ve always been fairly vocal against Fallon and his new show, but maybe a format like this is exactly what he needs to keep it fresh and entertaining apart from the other shows.

Fallon’s only guest the entire night was Ringo Starr. Yes, THAT Ringo Starr, my favorite Beatle. It’s weird, because I never hear a lot of press or publicity from Ringo, at least compared to Paul, but seeing him on the show talking about the Beatles, and even performing two of his Beatles songs on the show was spectacular. It really was a magical moment for me, and you can tell that it is for Jimmy as well considering that he’s always idolized Ringo.

Anyway, here’s the ENTIRE episode from last night’s Late Night. Make sure you at least catch Ringo’s performances if you skip around.

Late Night Wars, pt. 2

Jan 12

Posted by Josh in Conan O'Brien, funny, television, videos | No Comments

Here’s a new video for you today involving the craziness of the late night feud going on right now. This is definitely one of the best yet.

Late Night Wars

Jan 11

Posted by Josh in Conan O'Brien, funny, television, videos | No Comments

As everyone knows by now, the late night shows are in a total upheaval, all because of one man and the stupidity of one network: Jay Leno and NBC.

If you live under a rock and haven’t heard of the craziness going on, click here first.

This whole situation is ridiculous. Conan is getting completely screwed and it saddens me because he is my absolute favorite late night host. He has always been hilarious and creative, more so than any other. The fact that Leno seems so okay with taking back his old time slot after graciously bowing out and giving it to Conan seems incredibly selfish. It’s hard to imagine that he will go through with it, but this wouldn’t be the first time Leno has screwed someone over, remember?

That said, despite the screw-jobs happening left and right, this whole situation has one major upside: The late shows have never been funnier taking jabs at Leno and NBC. In fact, it seems like every host has taken off their gloves and are letting loose with a barrage of (truthful) insults directed at the two, like they have a vendetta to settle (and in Letterman’s case, he really does.) So this week, I will fan the flames of the late night war happening right now by posting each day a new ridiculous and amazing video that has come forth from late night. That way you don’t have to keep up with the drama, but still get to experience the best parts.

And just for fun, here’s a bonus (unrelated) video for you all. Enjoy!

The Third and the Seventh

Jan 7

Posted by Josh in movies | No Comments

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the most breathtaking videos I’ve ever witnessed.

It is a short film called “The Third and the Seventh.”  Here is the official description:

“A FULL-CG animated piece that tries to illustrate architecture art across a photographic point of view where main subjects
are already-built spaces. Sometimes in an abstract way. Sometimes surreal.”

Yes, that’s right.  The entire thing is CG.  It just might be some of the most realistic and convincing CG I’ve ever seen.  And not only that, but all of it was made by ONE MAN.

Wow.

You have to see this for yourself.  And make sure you watch it in HD and fullscreen it too!

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.