Yeah…I’m a geek

HaiHaiTO was created out of a desire to raise much needed funds for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.  It was also meant to provide a forum to showcase the perserverance, stories and culture of the Haitian people, so that we all might gain a better context and understanding of the people and place.

To this end, a dedicated group of volunteers have come together to host a multiformat event on Feb 11th, with all proceeds going to the Canadian Red Cross. 
For details and/or to sponsor the event, check us out here: www.HaiHaiTO.com

In my second installment of my Top 10 movies of 2009, I outline my top 5.  2009 was a stellar year for sci-fi with 4 of the top 5 coming from that genre. Although these are ranked from 5 to 1, all of these movies could be ranked number 1. Based on the fact this is a Top 10 list, I have stuck to the norms and placed them in an order that works for me.  Enjoy…

Number 5

YIAG Rating: 9/10

Sam Rockwell plays a lunar-based astronaut harvesting an invaluable resource meant to save the earth.  While on the moon, accompanied only by his computer colleague GERTY, something rather interesting happens nearing the end of his scheduled work term…

With very little knowledge of this movie or expectations (which is in my opinion, the ideal way to go into a book or movie) I was so completely surprised by the way this film was crafted and came together.  The incredible performance given by Sam Rockwell, one of Hollywood’s most under appreciated actors, left me wanting to see more. Kevin Spacey, as GERTY, gave his usual strong (yet creepy) performance as Sam Rockwell’s computer assistant/colleague.  This is my first Duncan Jones film, but hopefully not the last. I plan on checking out his 2002 film Whistle as soon as I can find it.

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I have to start by saying that these are MY Top 10 movies of 2009 and therefore may or may not make sense or align to your Top 10. In fact, I would like to hear if you agree with my list, but would LOVE to hear if you disagree.  As well, this is about as far from empirical as you can get. My ratings and feelings are guided only by how I felt on first viewing and after concurrent viewings of the movies.  Now, on to the AV goodness of 2009…

Number 10: State of Play

YIAG Rating:8.0/10

A seasoned Washington reporter, an up and coming political star and a scandal.All these things come together in this smart and intense political thriller.  From Kevin Macdonald, the director of the 2006 standout The Last King of Scotland and the lesser known, but still very enjoyable Touching the Void.

Initially, I was a little concerned that an actor of Russell Crowes’ chops would completely overwhelm Ben Affleck, but my misgivings were quickly proven misguided.  Rachel McAdams played the eager New Media reporter as she plays everything: extremely well.  Helen Mirren was…well, she was Helen Mirren (read: fabulous). Overall, I really enjoyed the look and feel of the movie, the pacing was excellent and the performances were engaging and genuine.

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We all know one. We may BE one… Hilarious video on who and what makes a New Media Douchebag…

We have all wondered what it would be like to meet our twin or doppelganger. For Alma, it turns out to be an experience she may never forget…

Alma from Rodrigo Blaas on Vimeo.

Right out of Spielberg’s Minority Report, this innovative and extremely cool user interface offers a hope of things to come.  This is the same user itnerface that was demoed almost a year ago at TED.

Take a picture and launch a Google search of whatever you just snapped a pic of.  How simple is that…

Take 8 giant flat panels positioned in a circle around the user and display Google StreetView information on them… That is essentially what Google’s Liquid Galaxy is all about, but it is almost so much more than that…