Primer: Genius … ?

23rd March, 2013.

 

You know, I have to confess, I think — think — that title’s quite possibly right.

You see, I’ve just rented the little science-fiction film, Primer, from the iTunes store.

As you might just have guessed from the poster.

And I’m thinking, here, that it’s possibly a work of genius: because I’m — frankly — wondering what else to call it … 

Hmmm … let me sleep on that, folks … !

~≈§≈~

27th March, 2013.

Busy, busy, busy … !

But I think I can say I’ve slept on Primer*.

And … ?

Well … 

Primer tells the story of a pair of engineering students — Aaron and Abe, played by Shane Carruth and David Sullivan — who, along with friends Robert and Phillip, meet regularly to brainstorm new ideas that they can patent.

And, in the finest tradition of garage engineers, everywhere, making a fortune on the lines of Wozniak and Jobs, or Hewlett and Packard.

That’s not quite the way things goes, though.

Abe and Aaron initially start working on a box-like machine for reducing an object’s mass.

Which turns out not to reduce mass.

No … 

It turns out what they’ve accidentally invented is a time-machine: something the pair use to milk the stock market.

Much as it’s tempting to say “With Hysterical Results” … it’s really not.

Not when the pair realise they’ve got tangled up in their complicated time-loop … 

~≈§≈~

Now, I’m actually going to be perfectly frank, here, if I may … ?

I really couldn’t tell you whether Primer is a work of genius.   Or otherwise, frankly.

But I am pretty sure the film is something of a gem: that I, for one, feel is worth you spending some time with.

With a 77 minute run time, this is a film that, had I the money, I would want to buy.   Primer is an intellectually dense film that I’m — as I write — watching again on my iPod.   Given that it’s a film one needs to pay attention to, buying it would allow me to watch it as many times as possible: it’s complicated, as well as watchable.

Given that … ?

I think I have to give Primer a four star rating …

Primer

★★★★

*        I should add, at this point, I managed to work out how to turn on my iPod’s closed caption switch.   For those of us watching a closed captioned film the same way — via and iPod Touch running iOS 6.x or higher — you’ll need to go to Settings>Video and set the Closed Caption switch to ‘On’.   I hope that helps.

The Brentwood Gazette’s Weekly Teaser — 27/3/2013: Oh Dr Beeching … !

Hmmm … 

Well, I’ll be happily frank, I’ve just had an interview, this afternoon.

And, while I think I do well at it, the crunch will come when — or if — I find out I’ve got the job.

Which will be the test of it.

At ANY rate … ?

Let’s move on, shall we … ?

Yes, let’s.

»»·««

After all, today is Wednesday, which mean that it’s time for the Gazette’s Weekly Teaser.

Here’s this week’s questions.

Q1) March 27th saw Dr Richard Beeching recommend shutting many railway stations in Britain: in which year of the 1960s … ?

Q2) More to the point, in which year of the 1960s was his second report about the railways … ?

Q3) What was the name of the company that ran Britain’s railways, at the time … ?

Q4) In which year of the 1940s were Britain’s railway’s nationalized … ?

Q5) What’s then name of the company that now manages Britain’s rail network … ?

Q6) How many railway franchises are there in Britain, today: 15, 25 or 35 … ?

Q7) Which train company runs the trains from Brentwood to Liverpool Street … ?

Q8) Moving on … who had a 1973 hit with ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ … ?

Q9) Which 2009 Tony Scott film is set on a New York subway train … ?

Q10) And finally … who had a 1991 hit with ‘Last Train To Transcentral’ … ?

And here’s last week’s questions and answers … 

Questions.   

Q1) 20th March saw Albert Einstein publish what: his General, or Special Theory of Relativity … ?   

Q2) What force does Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity concern: gravity, magnetism or electricity … ?   

Q3) ‘Classical’ physics — when you’re talking about Relativity — usually gets called Galilean relativity: named after which astronomer … ?   

Q4) ‘Classical’ physics gets called Newtonian mechanics, when discussed by quantum mechanics: which Newton is it named for … ?   

Q5) Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity talks about the speed of light: which is 186, 282 miles per what: second, minute or hour … ?   

Q6) Name any of the seven colours of the visible light spectrum.   

Q7) Can things travel faster than the speed of light … ?   

Q8) In Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc², which letter represents light: E, m or c … ?   

Q9) Which singer’s eleventh album was called E=mc² … ?   

Q10) And finally … who played Einstein in the film, Young Einstein … ?   

Answers.   

A1) The General theory.   

A2) Gravity.   (The central equations describe the relation between the geometry of a four-dimensional, pseudo-Riemannian manifold representing spacetime, and the energy–momentum contained in that spacetime.   Apparently … )   

A3) Galileo Galilei.   

A4) Sir Isaac Newton.   

A5) Second.   

A6) Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.   

A7) No.   

A8) c.   

A9) Mariah Cary’s.   

A10) Yahoo Serious.   

Enjoy the week … !

The Daily Teaser — 27-3-2013

Blimey, I’ve got an interview … !

Result!

By the sound of it, in the staff canteen of a local bank.   Not that I’m complaining.

If I bag it, it’s a full time gig … !

Wish me luck, folks.   I think I’m going to need it.

Let’s get moving on, shall we?   I suspect I’ve some ironing to do, first.

««·»»

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her answers: along with congratulating me on resetting my Apple ID, ALSO managed to bag 4 out of 5.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 27 March, 2004, saw the sinking of the decommissioned HMS Scylla: so she could be used as an artificial … what … ?

Q2) 27th March, 1958, saw Nikita Khrushchev named as leader of Soviet Russia.   Who did he denounce in a secret speech in 1956 … ?

Q3) 27th March, 1963, saw the birth of director, Quentin Tarantino.   Which 1990s film provided him with his first commercial success … ?

Q4) 27th March saw Geronimo surrender to the US Army.   In  which year of the 1880s … ?

Q5) More to the point, the Apache version of his name translates as ‘One Who … ’ what … ?

Q6) And finally … 27th March, 1989, saw which country hold a general election … ?

Here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) In Latin, Tuesday is the dies Martis: or day of which Roman god … ?

A1) Mars.

Q2) Which Biblical figure do many Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate on a Tuesday … ?

A2) John The Baptist.

Q3) According to the nursery rhyme, Tuesday’s child is what: fair of face, full of grace, or running a race … ?

A3) Full of grace.

Q4) The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is what Tuesday … ?

A4) Shrove Tuesday: also known as Pancake day, and Fat Tuesday.

Q5) And finally … Tuesday is associated with which Norse god … ?

A5) Týr.

I’ll leave you with this line from Quentin Tarantino …

“Great artists steal, they don't do homages.”

Quentin Tarantino, born 27th 1963

And this song from Jessie J … 

Enjoy the day … !

*     Oh, it wasn’t the password on Bruce, Debbi: it was my Apple ID, the username/password combination that let’s me buy stuff from the iTunes store.   It’s what let’s me rent movies and buy albums from the store.   I think Apple are — obviously — rather keen to make sure people can get back into their accounts: the store’s a big money-spinner for them … 

The Daily Teaser — 26-3-2013

Oh, now THAT’S annoying … !

I’ve got to reset my Apple ID!

That’s a bit of a git, at this time of the morning.   Especially when you’ve no idea what the answers to your security questions were … !

Git!

Means I’m going to be doing some frantic typing, later … !

Let’s move on, shall we … ?

Lets: before my irritation gets the better of me … !

~≈≈≈~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbi* putting in her questions: along with running a question past me, she also managed to bag five out of five.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s questions, shall we?   Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) In Latin, Tuesday is the dies Martis: or day of which Roman god … ?

Q2) Which Biblical figure do many Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate on a Tuesday … ?

Q3) According to the nursery rhyme, Tuesday’s child is what: fair of face, full of grace, or running a race … ?

Q4) The Tuesday before Ash Wednesday is what Tuesday … ?

Q5) And finally … Tuesday is associated with which Norse god … ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 25th March, 1306, saw Robert the Bruce crowned as King of Scotland: at which abbey … ?   

A1) Scone.

Q2) More to the point, that Abbey is near which Scottish town: Glasgow, Inverness or Perth … ?   

A2) Perth.

Q3) For many years, the symbolic Stone the Bruce was crowned on, was held in which London Abbey … ?   

A3) Westminster.

Q4) Robert the Bruce famously led Scotland to victory at which 1314 battle … ?   

A4) The Battle Of Bannockburn.

Q5) And finally … Robert was succeeded as King of Scotland, by his son: under what name did his son take the throne… ?   

A5) David 2nd.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Liam Neeson …

“I’m not the kind of actor that would know what my character had for breakfast last Tuesday.”

Liam Neeson

And this song from The Pogues … 

Now, if you’ll excuse me … ?

I’m going to reset my id … !

*        Actually, neither, Debbi: much as I’d like to look cultural and say Yes.   No, it’s the name of the system voice I prefer using: OS X has about 10 of them … !   I used Bruce on my original G4 tower: when I got Bruce, I defaulted to Alex: and got the names mixed up.   Which possibly sounds strange: admitting I’ve get the voices mixed up … !   (Benny Bernassi’s Satisfaction uses a couple of the other voices: Vicki and the (real) Bruce voice.   I’m just not going to show the video: it’s a bit TOO distracting for this time of the morning … … … !!)

The Daily Teaser — 25-3-2013: The Bruce

Hmmm … 

I’ll happilly admit, right now, I’ve got In The Flesh, playing in the background.

Which is shaping up nicely: at least, I think so, anyway.

It’s not quite as riveting as Being Human or as dark as The Fades*.

But it’s not too, bad, either.

We’ll have to see how it develops.

Let’s get moving on, shall we … ?

~~≈≈~~

Yesterday’s Teaser saw Debbiª putting in her answers: along with letting us know she thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s song, also bagged 6 out of 6.

Let’s see how she — and you — do with today’s Robert the Bruce questions, shall we … ?

Here they are, along with the ‘How To’, License and video … 

Q1) 25th March, 1306, saw Robert the Bruce crowned as King of Scotland: at which abbey … ?

Q2) More to the point, that Abbey is near which Scottish town: Glasgow, Inverness or Perth … ?

Q3) For many years, the symbolic Stone the Bruce was crowned on, was held in which London Abbey … ?

Q4) Robert the Bruce famously led Scotland to victory at which 1314 battle … ?

Q5) And finally … Robert was succeeded as King of Scotland, by his son: under what name did his son take the throne… ?

And here’s yesterday’s questions and answers …

Q1) 24th March, 1401, saw Timur sack which Syrian city … ?   

A1) Damascus.

Q2) More to the point, Timur is also known as whom … ?   

A2) Tamerlane.

Q3) 24th March, 1958, saw Elvis join the US Army: which division did he join, after training … ?   

A3) The 3rd Armoured Division.

Q4) 24th March, 1980, saw the murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero: whilst celebrating Mass in which city … ?   

A4) San Salvador.

Q5) 24th March, 2008, saw which country hold its first ever general election … ?   

A5) Bhutan.

Q6) And finally … 24th March, 1996, saw the closure of which satirical magazine … ?   

A6) Punch.

I’ll leave you with this few lines from the Declaration of Arbroath: the only document the Bruce is known to have signed, which could — arguably — be said to have something he’d’ve said … 

“For as long as one hundred of us shall remain alive, we shall never in any wise consent submit to the rule of the English, for it is not for glory we fight, nor riches, or for honour, but for freedom alone, which no good man loses but with his life.”

From the Declaration of Arbroath, signed — with 25th other nobles — by Robert the Bruce.

And this song from Robert Burns … 

Enjoy the day

*        Which I still think had potential to last a lot longer than it did: it’s cancelling, after one series, was a shame.

ª        If it’s any help, Debbi, Nick Lowe was on Stiff, and was the company’s in house producer: I think the company’s long since gone, but it’s worth checking out some of the back catalogue.