Hugo (8/10)

I went to see Hugo (the movie) last week. Surprisingly good little movie, actually. The main character is very sympathetic (if a little weird), and Ben Kingsley’s character, the toy repairman, is amazing. Sasha Baron Cohen also makes an appearance, in the form of an odd and quirky train station security guard. All very interesting. It’s odd to think this is a Scorcese movie. It’s not what you’d usually expect from this famous producer.

The story goes like this (quoting IMDB): “Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.” But beyond this, this is an homage to Georges Méliès, who literally produced HUNDREDS of movies between 1909 and 1914.

The movie is a delightful treat that combines childhood candor, early 20th century grit, and light comedy. The visuals are outstanding and feature some rather stunning technical achievements (which go unnoticed unless you’ve got an eye for them, such as the incredible camera pans & traveling). The story is deeply moving (thanks to Ben Kingsley spot-on performance). I don’t want to spoil too much of it. If you’re a movie lover, you’re likely to appreciate the ending of the movie the same way you’ve appreciated the end of “Chaplin” (w/Robert Downey Jr.).

J.

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Occupy Wall Street — Can You Photoshop to Prove a Point?

If there’s one thing I don’t like, it’s someone who lies and exaggerates to make a point. It doesn’t matter what the point is, the end doesn’t justify the means. Period.

Case in point: the Occupy Wall Street turnout.

I’m reproducing here some of the information published on TimParkinson.net:

There’s an image that has been making the rounds on Facebook. The image is an aerial shot of a supposedly huge turnout for the Occupy Wall St protest against corruption and greed. What appears to be thousands of protesters clog the streets of New York near the City Hall, with a caption stating:

Occupy Wall Street Turnout: My TV says nothing. The only thing I hear is its [sic] a small 100 person turn out. Turn off your TV. Ask your friends. Dont [sic] trust the media they lie!

This image arose a lot of suspicion on a skeptics mailing list I’m a part of. Here’s what Tom Parkinson said about the whole thing:

My skeptical colleague saw this image and immediately smelled something fishy. Travis noticed that the image was an aerial photo of New York City Hall, whereas the protests were happening several blocks away at Liberty Square. He sent the image to the mailing list for other opinions. To my eyes the mass of protesters looked out of place, the crowd looked too uniform and dense to be real. I took the image into Photoshop to see if I could pick up any pattern to the image. My original thought was that they had used the clone tool to make a smaller group of people look much larger. Not being able to find anything obvious, I started to wonder where the background plate may have come from. Immediately Google Maps came to mind. I looked up the location featured in the image, and then I saw it:

Look familiar? How about now:

According to Google Earth, this particular aerial photograph of City Hall was taken on the 3rd of June, 2011, one month before the Occupy Wall Street initiative even began.

I have no strong opinions regarding what these people are protesting about. I’m sure they believe their cause is just and I respect their right to make a stand. I do however find it supremely ironic that a group who is supposedly protesting about corruption and lies would produce such a blatant piece of propaganda. Especially one so readily falsifiable. I respect that people have their own opinions and beliefs, however I have no respect for those who blatantly lie to defend their beliefs.

I’d like to put a little addendum to this: the Wettstein person who produced the fake image feels very strongly about his lies, and goes around trying to shut up anyone who exposes his trick. I encourage you to propagate this information around. Regardless of how you feel about Wall Street, a lie is a lie. A liar is a liar. If we stand for this kind of malicious manipulation of the information, we accept that it’s a proper methodology. Whatever comes next will be our responsibility and no one else’s.

Thus, I make my stand here. Please do your part, share the truth.

–J

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A Producer With a Bow, Baby!

This Thursday, I’m starting archery classes. With those badass bows that have pulleys.

Can’t wait to get started. M’gonna shoot arrows ‘n stuff! Very therapeutic, no doubt!

J.

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The End of an Adventure…

As of 8:30 this morning, I am once more (and officially) a Montrealer.

And I really don’t know (yet) how I feel about it. This is the most-asked question, and I honestly don’t have an answer. “So how does it feel to be back?” Folks, for now, the answer remains the same:

I. Don’t. Know.

I suspect it’s going to take a little time for my mind to fully realize I’m not returning to Santiago, that I’m here to stay. Then I’ll know how I feel about it. Right now, aside from being a little tired, I’m excited about being back in Montreal. I’m going to miss the Santiago guys a great deal, but they’re in good hands and I’m not worrying about them. There’s a great managing team over there, so I’m confident they’ll have forgotten all about me in a week or two.

Today, new challenges await. And THAT is exciting.

J.

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Live from Montreal!

Now back in Montreal until July 12nd. I’m on vacation this week and Monday. I’ll be in the office on Tuesday thru Thursday (June 28-30), then I’m back on vacation. Most of this vacation time is spent running around town and re-settling in. It’s funny how many things you need to do when you’ve been out of the country for so long. Things like re-activating my driver’s license, subscribing to OPUS+ (to benefit from Communauto membership advantages), buying plants, a new TV, getting internet & electricity, repairing the damage left by my clueless rentee, closing old bank accounts, getting a new “chip” bank card & credit card, paying due taxes, figuring out how to bring my cat back (and under what conditions), etc.

So yeah, not SO MUCH a vacation as a time to settle tons of affairs.

But it’s good to be back. It’s raining hard, today. I kind of missed the rain. In Santiago, from November to June, there was only ONE day of rain. Funny how you don’t expect you’ll miss something, until it’s disappeared from your life for a long time…

–Jean

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“Plus que deux dodos…”

…and I’m flying to Montreal.

Can’t wait to see y’all.

–Jean

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Little Detour

I’m visiting Montreal during the last 2 weeks of June and the first of July, but BEFORE that, I decided to do a little trip to…

That’s RIGHT!!! I’m GOING TO RIO DE JANEIRO!!!

I’ll take photos!

Jean

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Next Visit to Montreal

Sorry for those who followed the blog and ran into the hacked page. I only just realized it was hacked, so I couldn’t fix it before now. But considering how little I’ve been updating this blog, I doubt anyone has noticed.

I’ll be visiting Montreal to re-settle in my condo between June 18 @ July 11. I will then return to Santiago for another 6-7 weeks, and (tentatively) fly back to Montreal permanently on August 31.

Stay tuned for further updates.

–Jean

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Merry Christmas All!

Hope you all have a fantastic Xmas!

Feliz Navidad!

Joyeux Noël!

–Jean

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Upcoming Trip to Emm-Tee-Ell (MTL)

For those who care, as well as everybody else, I’m taking off from Santiago on Friday, Dec. 17, and will be arriving in Montreal on the 18 in the morning. I’ll be spending the weekend at my parents’ place, then spend a few days next to the office downtown (I’m mostly working that week).

I’ll be returning to Santiago on Jan 2 (I THINK). Hope to have a chance to see some/all of you during that time.

–Jean

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