Movie Weekend: Up

I saw Pixar's Up in Disney Digital 3D this morning at the AMC 24 Hamilton. The theater was mobbed. The movie was great! Pixar's animation was, of course, top notch once again. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of emotion that was packed into the opening sequence, in which we get to know the film's main character. Many of the adults in the audience were wiping away tears. The 3D effects once again did not disappoint and complimented the film rather than overwhelmed it. A fun, engaging and emotional moviegoing experience. This may well have been my favorite Pixar film yet, and I'm a big fan of Toy Story 1 and 2.

Movie Weekend: The Happening

M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening premiered on Cinemax tonight, and I got to see it at last. As a Shyamalan fan, I was curious to see how this stood up to his other films like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village and Lady in the Water. I'm happy to say that The Happening has Shyamalan't touch on it and it's good. I was very impressed with Zooey Deschanel particularly. She lends a quirky, unusual air to whatever movie she's in and she's really effective here. A very emotional movie. Great stuff!

Movie Weekend: Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi returns to horror this weekend with Drag Me to Hell. I'm glad to say that it's just as enjoyable as any of his other horror entries from the past several years: Evil Dead I & II, Army of Darkness and Darkman. DMTH has all of the trademark Raimi horror touches and more, including some in-jokes for Evil Dead fans (at one point the movie's heroine shouts "Come get some!" to an evil entity trying to do her harm, recalling one of Ash's famous one-liners). So, get thee unto the multiplex and enjoy this summertime frightfest!

Movie Weekend: Hostel, Pt. 2

If finally got a chance to see Hostel Part 2 on one of the premium cable channels. I enjoyed this film as much as the first Hostel and it was great to see director Eli Roth revisiting familiar ground. It was also good to see at least one of the characters from the first film return, if only for a little while. I'm looking forward to more from Eli Roth, particularly in the horror genre.

Star Trek Premiere Photos

Posted via Pixelpipe.

The Year's Best Graphic Novels 2008 @ NJLA 2009

Here I am introducing the panel at the 2009 NJLA conference. Thanks to Laverne Mann for the video.

Technology Tapas: Dessert

Over the last several weeks, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the New Jersey State Library's Technology Tapas. Not only did I have an opportunity to explore some areas of technology that I have not looked at before but I was able to revisit technology that is familiar to me in new ways. Here are my final comments on the TT experience:

One of my favorite Tapas activities was working with Flickr. I have had my free Flickr account for years, but I tried utilizing it in a new way. I downloaded and installed an iPhone app called Flickit to post pictures taken with the phone directly to Flickr. This method proved so convenient to me that I decided to purchase a Flickr Pro account. This was an unexpected, positive outcome of the program!

In terms of my lifelong learning activities, I already knew that I embrace technology in order to accomplish professional and personal goals. The TT experience reinforced that. TT has also helped me realize that technology can be utilized to make one more comfortable with unfamiliar topics and professional challenges.

Everyone involved in the institution of Technology Tapas deserves praise for this worthwhile program. Andrea Simzak and Bob Keith did a great job administering and managing it. The New Jersey State Library's support of technology in the professional development of its employees is a great model for other organizations. If this program were to be offered again, I would certainly participate.

Thanks for a great experience!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I enjoyed X-Men Origins: Wolverine more than I thought I would. I have seen all of the X-Men films and I thought that this one was pretty exciting. I thought that there was a little confusion about some of the characters and which ones they were portraying from the comics. Stay through the credits for an additional scene at the end which hints at a future for one of the characters!

Technology Tapas - Podcasting

This week's Technology Tapas is devoted to podcasts. I have enjoyed listening to podcasts about my favorite subjects for quite some time. I have a number of favorite podcasts, including those devoted to gaming, comics and libraries. Some gaming examples are: Blizzcast and All Things Azeroth. I utilize them by listening while doing other things like writing or creating a website or working with Publisher. This is a great way to keep up on a subject (most of the time) in an informal and laid back manner of presentation.

Star Trek - Opening May 8th!

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originally uploaded by davelisa41.

This is the great floor display at my favorite theater, the AMC 24 Hamilton here in New Jersey.