As a first-gen Star Wars fan, I am often asked my opinion about the new movies from those who were not around in May 1977. I figured I would address all that here. I was six when the first Star Wars movie came out. For half of my life, we knew it as “Star Wars.” This “A New Hope” moniker became more relevant after its re-release in the late 70s prior to “The Empire Strikes Back” in 1980. But until the prequel trilogy, of which I will not waste time on, we simply knew the film as “Star Wars.” Now that term is used for the franchise, not the first film.

Fast-forward to “The Force Awakens.” I enjoyed that film, although Disney played it safe by basically using all the plot points from “A New Hope” as a basis for this film. That did not bother me much, honestly. After the prequel films, of which I will not waste time on (hehe), it delighted me to see a fairly well-made film, even though it lacked in originality, it did have some depth to it, and it featured some of the classic characters. In fact, “The Force Awakens” had the best MacGuffin in it, in my opinion, since “North by Northwest.” For those not familiar with a Macguffin, it is essentially a plot device that really doesn’t factor into the movie other than it drives the narrative forward. In this case, Luke Skywalker served as the Macguffin for “The Force Awakens.” Luke doesn’t play a central role in the film at all and is only seen for 20 seconds in the final shot of the film, but it is the search for him that drives the plot forward. I thought this was the biggest and best build-up in a trilogy as I have seen in a long, long time.

But alas, that is where my praise ends. “The Last Jedi” comes along, and it underscores everything that is wrong with the sequel trilogy, and I lay that blame squarely on the feet of Kathleen Kennedy. She ought to know better, having been a top-level producer for Lucasfilm since the early days of the company. In fact, Kennedy’s name is featured in the credits of some of the biggest films of all time, including the Indiana Jones films, “E.T.,” etc. Herein lies Disney’s mistake with the sequel trilogy. They used the Marvel formula, and anyone from a toddler to a senior citizen can tell you Star Wars is NOT Marvel. Star Wars was and always has been a diamond in the rough, a rare-breed of filmmaking. It defined modern cinema. Part of its uniqueness is its rarity. There were only six theatrical films that defined the brand. Yes, I know there were two made-for-TV Ewok films, a couple of cartoon series’, a goofy 1977 Christmas special, etc. But six theatrical films defined the brand: the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy.

So, Disney made two huge mistakes. First and foremost, they hired three directors to write and direct three films of a SINGLE trilogy. The original trilogy had three directors, but ONE visionary (Lucas) who crafted the stories. So, in effect, you had a singular vision and a singular story told in three parts. With the sequel trilogy, you had three different men with three different visions writing three different films. The result with “The Last Jedi” was a disjointed film that basically did away with important plot points set up in “The Force Awakens” and on many levels “went its own way.” The fan backlash, the flop of “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” and the firing of the original director of Episode IX is proof of this mistake. Plus, the story introduced new characters no one really cared about (Admiral Holdo anyone?) and killed off two significant legacy characters stupidly: Admiral Ackbar and Luke Skywalker.

Although I do not hate “The Last Jedi,” and there were actually parts of the film I really like, I lament that so much screen time time was wasted for pointless scenes (the gambling planet) and lack of time developing relevant characters (Rey, Finn, and Poe). Plus, the massive build-up to finding Luke Skywalker in “The Force Awakens” resulted in little more than most of Luke Skywalker’s scenes wasted on him whining about his bad fortune and why he cannot help the cause of the Resistance. Essentially, this wasted the entire climax of finding Luke at the end of “The Force Awakens.”

The second mistake Disney made involved the over-saturation of Star Wars films they planned to make. For example, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (a film no one really asked for) came out within six months of the release of “The Last Jedi.” Additionally, when I saw “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” in theaters I heard numerous people asking “Where’s Rey?” and “Where’s Luke?” and questions like that. Some people did not understand that this was a disconnected film from “The Force Awakens.” It seems that Disney had added confusion in the rush to put as much Star Wars on screen as possible. Again, this is NOT Marvel.

In conclusion, there is more I could say, but you get the idea. I do not hate the sequel trilogy. In fact, I am more than pleased the films are not on “prequel” level bad. But Disney needs to be smarter moving forward.

This post will grow in length. Maybe.

I had a guy once tell me he was a Meso Meketerian. These, according to him, and the core beliefs of Meso Meketerians: “We believe in the possibility that summertime will succeed springtime. We also feel that there is harmony in music, and we love grits.”

Oh, and he said the parakeet was the national symbol of their cult….

Here are some other, highly unorthodox statements that may or may not have crossed my ear:

“I don’t always have the right answers, but I do occasionally hit the target from a shot in the dark.”

“I am the most devoted person you will ever ignore.”

“The proficiency of my mindlessness is befuddling.”

“The best thing about confusion is that it’s free. It’s clarity of thought that can take the chomp out of a bank account.”

“I want to get some memorable kicks in before I lose my memory.”

“I gave up walking straight lines a long time ago. I started zigzagging. I learned this trick from battleships trying to avoid German wolf pack submarines. So far, I have yet to be torpedoed, so it must be working.”

“I’d learn to juggle flaming flies if it would mean an end to confusion and despair.”

“At birth, we are owed only two things: a drink of milk and a clean diaper. The rest is up to us.”

“Here’s the short of it: I’m a parakeet hoarder.”

“A marginal amount of excess is sought after, fought after and seldom adhered to.”

“Embryonic and hardly cognitive, all of us are reborn each day into the tunnel of the unknown.”

“The mothership of wisdom certainly isn’t painted in easy to see colors. On the contrary, the best planned decisions of men are often the most easily sunk in the mildest of storms.”

“Marriage is the most unpredictable predictability and yet at the same time the most predictable unpredictability.” — Scott Morton

“Sometimes the best and most cherished memories are those we’d just as soon forget.”

“Divorce is like an open wound: treat it right and it will heal properly, although a slight scar is to be expected. Treat it wrong, and infection will set in requiring six years purgatory in a penal colony somewhere.”

“Clever words of wisdom are most often spouted by the unwisest of boxcar hobos. In such cases, it is wiser to clamp the chatter trap and find new pastures to fertilize.”

“You are made of sunshine. You radiate your glow and warmth all over me. You are a constant reminder to me each day that although an occasional cloud may come between us, your rays will soon punch through and fill me with golden illumination and joy yet again.”

“I never give up. It’s like when I bake a cake. The first one usually gets messed up. The second one collapses while in the oven. The third one is perfect, but I fall into it as I am walking it to the table because the pan is so hot. FINALLY, after the fourth time, it’s finished and not destroyed, but it is not worth eating because I used all the eggs in the previous failed attempts.”

“Anyone who goes prancing about bragging on the enormity of the universe would never be caught wearing anything less than the best.”

“I love cookies more than I love a broken-down bus full of Nordic cheerleaders who haven’t seen a man in over a year. That is saying a lot, because I REALLY REALLY do love a broken down bus full of Nordic cheerleaders who haven’t seen a man …in over a year!”

“I was born sideways, I think. And I’ll most likely go out upside down. Seems fair enough since I lived my entire life backwards.”

“My life is one part drizzle and two parts fizzle, and every so often a dash of sizzle.”

What I lack in knowledge of women I gain in knowledge of antidepressants.

Why isn’t Zero hour considered one hour before one o’clock?

“There is a certain rhythm to my hysteria. It’s right on the beat, although wholly unpredictable even after repeated performances.”

“There’s nothing like dangling in the wind, floating on currents and riptides of whims and luck. In the end it all empties into the sea anyway, so none of it really matters.”

“The most probable conclusion to a most perplexing dilemma is almost always the most absurd outcome. So, if your horse is coming in last, bet against yourself and win some money.”

“There is nothing more mundane than a clock, the hands of which just spin slowly around in pointless circles. Kind of depressing to watch actually, this tick tock blues madness…”

“She can get feisty all she wants and snort and hop around, but she is still my little sister and she ain’t too big to be brought across my knee for some attitude adjustment.”

“There are many things I cannot state with absolute assurance, but one thing I can proclaim with total confidence is that every single egg once had a chicken wrapped around it.”

“Do not turn around in circles if your destination is other than where you started. For crying out loud.”

“Had I known life was going to be this f***ing complicated, I would have punched someone in the gut for talking me into sliding down the tube 39 years ago.”

“Oh what I wouldn’t do for a dose of understanding, a pinch of explanation, a shot of surprise and a shake or two of the unexpected.”

“I have found that the most amazing things can often times be what does not make sense upon a first glance.”

“My good thought for today: Those who look down on others usually have farther to fall. Another thought: He who ventures high for fruit usually stands on shaky limbs.”

“Of all the conjecturing and postulating throughout our history as to why the universe was constructed, “just because” seems to be the best and most gratifying answer there is.”

“When the wind hits my sails, I will be scooting along…”

“There ain’t no backing out, unless of course, there’s a back door to this place.”

“A window is a strange oddity. It is designed to be transparent, to be able to see through, but as admired as it is to look out of, looking INTO a window can often get one into trouble.”

“Some fires need rekindling. Others need dousing. Only wisdom can tell us which is which. The answers may not always be clear.”

“You are what you are, and you ain’t what you ain’t. The rest is just pudding burning in the pot.”

“A wise man is usually the dumbest man of them all. Dumb men usually find true happiness, which makes them the wisest men of all!”

“I will beg no man for anything. But I will borrow anything from anyone unless I can get it on sale someplace else.”

“If you make a woman laugh, you are doing well. If you make her laugh when she cries, you are doing great. If you can pull off making her cry when she laughs, you are da man!!!”

“What you see is what you get, but what you get is not often what you see.”

“If you make a woman laugh, you are doing well. If you make her laugh when she cries, you are doing great. If you can pull off making her cry when she laughs, you are da man!!”

“Often the winds of fate conspire against us. When so, pull out the hairdryer and fight back!”

“What did the dolphin say to the bear? “What the hell are you doing in the ocean?”

“The reason life is so short is to cut down on the overall amount of taxes one pays in one’s lifetime. Dying is actually a unique form of monetary investment whereas savings are held in fortuity. For instance, an estate of the deceased being held in compound interest over the period of eternity can yield favorable dividends.”

“A flower sniffer usually has a bee up his nose.”

“I make up my own quotes. You can quote me on that.”

“When you realize you’ve gone too far and you can’t turn around, it’s time to forge a new path. That’s the real definition of life.”

“I try to avoid anything to do with rational thinking. Rational thinking leads to astute, analytical observations about ones own reality, which in turn leads to a sobering epiphany most often resulting in wanting another beer. Just watch me!”

There are 24 Bond movies as of 2019. A 25th one is on its way. As a Bond aficionado, I have noticed that 007 always loses his gun. This generally happens around six times per film. So, by my calculations, there should be around 144 Walther PPKs laying about all over the world. What a waste.

What I really want to know is, did he carry spares? Occasionally you see him grab another Walther from his glove compartment or some other hidden cubby hole, but mainly he just magically has a new Walther in hand, ready to fight the villain. If I was M, I would make him purchase his own firearms. Can you imagine how much these lost Walthers cost Her Majesty’s Secret Service annually? Walther should demand he refund them for all these lost weapons.

Just a friendly reminder that if you are in the Secret Service, you better hold on to your gun.

Actually, there are many things funny about Hollywood. But there is no denying that the tech this industry uses is amazing. Today I want to focus on resolution. Walk into any Best Buy and three dozen young, energetic salesmen rush up to you to sell you a 4k TV. They start feeding you all this mush about the picture quality and how it “blows HD away!” But there are several things you need to know about the home 4k format, known as UHD (Ultra high Definition). And does it really blow HD away?

First let us define 4k and UHD. Let’s start with 4k. There are three primary resolutions used in the home format these days: 720HD, Full HD, and UHD. Others have existed like Standard Definition (NTSC, or the old square TVs), but let’s concentrate on the top two as of 2018: Full HD and UHD. As you probably know, Full HD is the name given to the digital video format consisting of the following resolution: 1080 pixels by 1,920 pixels. Picture this as a rectangle that is 16 units wide and 9 units tall. The length (X Axis) contains a row of 1,920 pixels. The Y Axis, or the vertical height of the rectangle, contains a column of 1,080 pixels. Multiply these together, and you get a whopping 2 million pixels (2 megapixels) per frame. Keep in mind a super majority of Hollywood films are shot in 24 frames per second. That’s a lot of visual information hitting your eyes each second.

Now, UHD quadruples the pixel count! Depending on the shape of the screen, the resolution numbers vary, but we are looking at 3,840 x 2160. That’s 3,840 pixels horizontally by 2,160 vertically. Same 16 x 9 shape (aspect ratio) as HD. There is a wider aspect ratio now available, but we will get into that at another time. So, these numbers come to a whopping 8,294,400 pixels per frame, or more simply put, 8.3 megapixels per frame. Interestingly, this is not ACTUALLY 4k, as it is really only 3.8k (3,840). To be truly 4k, it would need to be at least a 4,000-line image. Hollywood uses a true 4k format, which is slightly higher resolution than the UHD “4k” format.

Why didn’t they just call it 3.8k? Better yet, why didn’t they just make the UHD format the same resolution as the cinema 4k? It takes a greater (or slightly more unstable) mind to make sense of these things, and even then, only after six drinks at a local pub. Keep in mind, however, that most every theater in the country only projects at 2k, which is only slightly (almost insignificantly) higher resolution than HD, which is technically a 1.9k format (1,920) as opposed to 2k’s resolution of 2,048 x 1080. Again, why didn’t they simply make HD the same 2k standard as theaters project in??

Does your head explode yet? Well, there’s more to consider.

UHD offers an increased color range and more dynamic range than HD. They call this feature HDR (High Dynamic Range), which is quite stunning, visually more perceptible than the added pixel density of 4k over HD. This means the average viewer will appreciate the added color depth and HDR more so than all the added pixels.

Okay, I know I have covered a lot. But consider a few additional items. Why were these resolutions conceived in the first place? Well, HD was fashioned in 1080 x 1920 to closely match the resolution and quality experience of a standard theatrical release print. Back in the film days, theatrical release prints had (according to the experts) roughly 2k worth of resolution. This is because a 35mm theatrical release print was 3^rd or 4^th generation away from the original negative. Release prints were not fashioned from the OCN (original camera negatives). This is to protect the negative, because as we all know, running film through projectors can cause damage to the prints (tears, scratches, etc.). Theatrical release prints were at least 3^rd or fourth generation removed from the OCN, because thousands of them had to be made. And each time you copy from a copy, picture quality is reduced. So, HD and 2k gave you basically the same viewing experience of watching a 35mm film projection.

Now the 4k resolution, on the other hand, was intended to be a good archival resolution, as a 4k scan resolves nearly all the resolution from an OCN that it contains. So, in effect, when I am watching Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind or Blade Runner on my UHD Blu-Ray, I am, in essence, seeing it at nearly equal to the resolution in which the film was shot. That’s darn cool! We are FINALLY seeing the films in the quality the creators always wanted us to see them in.

Now, for the original question, are the Best Buy salespeople correct? Does UHD “blow away” Full HD? Well, yes and no. Yes, meaning it does, but no, meaning you can’t tell UNLESS you are seeing the image on a HUGE screen, or are sitting pretty damn close to the screen on a moderate sized-monitor.

If you have a 54” display and you are sitting six feet away from it, I would probably say you cannot see much (if at all) the added detail. Why? Because the human eye can only see detail so small, and anything smaller than that number is basically invisible to us at normal viewing distances. Now, if you are sitting right in front of your screen or are projecting in excess of 100 inches, you might very much appreciate the added detail. And let me tell you from personal experience, the added detail is STUNNING! Seeing is believing. If you are right in front of the screen, of course. This is why computer monitors like the Apple iMac 5k (27-inch screen) looks so gorgeous, because you are sitting right in front of it!

In conclusion, it all depends on your perspective, I guess. But make no mistake, 4k is just the beginning. I am seeing monitors mentioned now for 8k resolution. Can we say overkill? I can’t wait to see how the Best Buy dudes spin this one!

 

It didn’t take me long to realize I hit the jackpot at last. I am not referring to money or fame. I am referring to finding my place in life. Oh, it took a heck of a long time to find my place in life, but after I found it, it didn’t take me long to realize it. I became a college professor. Well, an assistant professor, but you have to start someplace.

I found myself standing in unknown ground: a new state, a new college, new students, new coworkers, and new culture. But the irony is, I felt like I have been here forever. So far it’s been a great adventure. So far it’s been more than I expected, which, by the way, is the first time in 46 years I could make that claim. Never before has something been “more than expected.”

I will park this right here; leave it for another day. But hey, these three paragraphs are a start. Right?

This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.