Guest Review: Man on Wire

Cyrus Irani wrote this review long before Man on Wire took the Oscar home last night.  Hopefully, he will be a regular contributor to this site. 

Man on Wire - A man wants to rig a tightrope between the World Trade towers… and then WALK ON IT!! 

 

This film is worth watching just for shots taken from the roof of the tower when he is contemplating the feasibility of the stunt. Absolutely insane! Especially for someone like me who somewhat afraid of heights.

 

It provides a very detailed story of all that went into the attempt; from his training, to the engineering, to the difficulty involved with simply gaining access to the roof of the towers themselves, to setting up the rig, and topped with detailed accounts of each team member’s emotions leading up to the attempt. Very cool. And very few unanswered questions (although it does leave a couple)

 

It would have been nice to see more shots/video of him actually climbing out onto the wire itself, especially video footage of him taking his first steps (with only the real sounds in the background (the music was used in Riding Giants)). But this all happened in the 70’s, so I guess we should be happy with what they were able to capture. Plus, you can’t blame the filmaker for shots that the original team never took.

 

The film also scratches the surface of the team members’s personal relationships. On one hand, I found that a little was better than nothing. But on the other hand, it left me unsatisfied about the conclusions I’ve made about the tightrope walker himself.

 

But still, there were parts of this film that had me on the edge of my couch.

 

 ScalesRates: 8.75

Indy Restaurant Lightning…

Peppy Grill in Fountain Square:  One of those places like Hinkle’s in Bloomington that serves a great burger with a terrible attitude by the entire staff.  Unlike Hinkle’s though, the attitude at Peppy isn’t an act.  These people are just grumpy.  It’s open 24 hours.  Above average fries. No Dr. Pepper.  Pretty good shakes.  The pancakes looked great.  24 hour availability is a big plus in my book.  ScalesRates: 7.7

Iria’s – OVERRATED clap clap clap clap clap! I know, I know- sacrilege.   No place I’ve ever been FEELS more like it should have great Italian food.  It’s where you bring Don Corleone.  But then you would have to explain yourself after he took a bite of baked pene with meatballs.  Not tasty.  At all.  ScalesRates: 4.0

City Cafe- Man oh man, what a great place for lunch or breakfast.  Why oh why don’t you serve Dr. Pepper (or Mt. Dew)? Cajun ketchup is amazing, but they give you half a shots worth, and charge you for it – so that hurts.  Black bean wrap, bbq sandwich, lemonade of the days- all off the charts.  Sure would be nice if you were open on Sundays.  ScalesRates: 8.1

Facebook listens…for now

Not sure how many people have been following this story, but I would imagine that it directly effects almost every reader of ScalesRates.  Earlier this month, Facebook amended their Terms of Use in some not so settling ways.  The old Terms of Use provided that user information/content was property of facebook until the user deleted it.  However, the change amended that section to stake claim to the content even after deletion.  In fact, even after termination of an account.  Pictures, notes, comments, you name it- all of it belonged to Facebook forever.  

The Orwellian provision went largely unnoticed until a blog entitled The Consumerist wrote about the new Terms of Use -saying, “anything you upload to Facebook can be used by Facebook in any way they deem fit, forever, no matter what you do later.”

Word spread, and users were outraged.  And Facebook pulled an about face last night- with this note from founder Mark Zuckerburg:

“A couple of weeks ago, we revised our terms of use hoping to clarify some parts for our users. Over the past couple of days, we received a lot of questions and comments about the changes and what they mean for people and their information. Based on this feedback, we have decided to return to our previous terms of use while we resolve the issues that people have raised.”

So, we’re safe for now, and obviously there are plenty of users who will change the way they use sites like Facebook (if they continue to use them at all) if terms like this become the law of the land.  I just wonder what’s to come.  What changes will be made?  Also, anyone else notice a mini-wave of parents joining Facebook?  Interesting.  

It’s been too long

Hello few readers out there.  I think I’m back.  Basically, I was hit with something really bad, and sicker than I have ever been in my entire life.  

So…sorry about the lapse of time since my last post.  

Something I read this morning and found pretty entertaining: The disgraced company, Blackwater, has changed their name in an attempt to lose their image. 

The damn thing reads like an Onion article, only this is true.  The new name is Xe? Pronounced like “Z”?  Can you imagine the meeting that took place before this decision was announced?  

Exec 1: It’s the damn media.  They’ve hated us ever since this war has started.  No reason. 

Exec 2: They get half the shit wrong- lazy sob’s don’t know how much good we do. 

1: Amen.

2: In fact, I bet if we just changed our name…you know, just dropped the Blackwater part of it…

1: (looks up)

2: I don’t know- something more….something less…dark.

1: I *just* was thinking about that.  I told my dad, I said- “Maybe Blackwater just sounds like we’re up to no good, so the media assumes.”

2: How about something like Paradise Gardens, Inc.?

1: No good- sounds like a salad dressing.  How about Xe? (Tip of the hat to Arrested Development)

2: The letter?

1: No, spelled X-E.  Pronounced like the letter. 

2: Why not just use the letter?

1: Jesus Ron, whose side are you on?

My Own Private Idaho

I don’t know if it’s the worst movie ever made, but I do know that it’s the worst movie I’ve ever seen.  My wife is reminding me that A) I like “linear” movies, B) That, “what about all those Tim Allen movies, you know those are worse.” 

To that, I would say the following: I really like most movies- linear or not.  And I would rather watch the Mr. Clause trilogy three times in a row – than be subjected to any 2 consecutive scenes in My Own Private Idaho.  This movie is shamefully bad.  I kept asking myself, what ended up on the cutting room floor?  How was there any single scene that Gus Van Stadt thought didn’t fit in with the movie.  

ScalesRates: 0.4

Two things…

1.  Name the city where a body was found in a cargo elevator in a block of ice (seen below, dead):

2.  Name the ScalesRates reader that thought the poster of Clay Davis was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (seen below, barely alive):

Comment!

Monday Night Lightning

Burn After Reading:  Was prepared not to like it at all.  But it actually wasn’t too bad.  Brad Pitt is different in this role than I have ever seen him.  I thought Clooney was pedestrian.  John Malkovich was off the charts.  6.4

Air and Simple Gifts:  This was the name of the John Williams piece preformed at President Obama’s inauguration.  Only later did we find out that it was actually too cold for it to be broadcast live.  That’s not what troubles me though- what troubles me is how unremarkable the piece was.  Right  before they started playing, I said out loud, “this is going to make us cry.”  It didn’t come close to making me cry or smile or anything significant.  1.9

Video podcasts on the Iphone:  When they work, they are incredible.  I would say that over 75% of the time I get an error message about the video not being in the proper format or being unplayable.  A video podcast.  From Itunes.  In the wrong format.  That makes no sense to me.  I looked it up online and it seems that a lot of people are having the same problem.  I want my Meet The Press.  3.1

No Country For Old Men:  Yeah.  I was a little bit behind the curve on this one.  If you haven’t watched it yet- hurry.  9.0

Rebel Without A Cause:  All I can say is both acting and writing have gotten a hell of a lot better since 1955.  4.6

Two Hearted Ale:  What a great beer.  9.1

CLAY DAVIS

The War Photographer

James Nachtwey has been taking pictures of war since Vietnam.  He’s quiet, compassionate, and professional.  At first, he only took pictures of war, but evolved into taking pictures of tragedy.  ”Violence,” Nachtwey says in the interview included in the dvd’s bonus features, “takes many forms.  War is only one of them.”

This amazing documentary follows Nachtwey to war zones in Kosovo, Ramallah, South Africa, Rwanda, the sulfur mines and ghettos of Indonesia, and a dark room and his flat back in New York City.  To try to describe the way he carries himself – the perfect calm that permeates his every move – is not possible.  He’s an amazing ambassador for peace, understanding, and ultimately -the United States (a claim or argument that the movie never makes, but never has to).  What’s amazing though is he does his work with almost total silence. “I don’t like to move too quickly or speak too loudly.”  The connection he has with his subjects is instantly apparent.  They trust him, are comfortable with him, and realize that his presence and his camera may be the best chance for peace that ordinary people ever have.  

All your questions are answered – his constant struggle with the feeling that he somehow benefits from other peoples misery, his worry that people that see his pictures of famine will think he ignores his subjects, his battles with publications that don’t want to portray the terrible reality he records. 

It’s an amazing movie, about an amazing man.  Really.

ScalesRates: 9.1

Uh oh.

Just picked this up over on Political Punch:

During the taping of the Oprah Winfrey show today, Dr. Jill Biden said that her husband, the vice president-elect, was given a choice of being either vice president or secretary of State.

This revelation came after Vice President-elect Joe Biden told Oprah that after then-Sen. Obama offered the job of VP he asked for some time to think about it and talk it over with his family.

Mrs. Biden interjected: “Joe had the choice of being secretary of State or vice president.” She then seemed to realize she’d said something she wasn’t supposed to have said.