Dune
I haven’t yet seen the Dune movie. I’m conflicted about whether to wait to see it in a theater or have a first look at home. But as mentioned, I’ve reread the original trilogy and I’m encouraged about early reports about how its been brought to life on the screen.
It’s hard for me to understand why the investment was made to shoot only the first half of the story and then try to fund the second. Isn’t it way more economical to shoot both even if you only do the the CGI and post on half? The timing locations for the second half has to be the same. It’s just the time for shooting. Actors may not be available or willing, there are the props and costumes to be stored.
I liked this:
What Dune Reveals about Reproductive Control and Eugenics – Scientific American
One important aspect of Herbert’s universe has remained unexamined: the biology, sociology and ethics of reproduction as depicted in the novel.
The novel was widely recognized as a environmental state when published in 1965, following the birth of the environmental movement around the time of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962. But it’s true that there are strong themes concerning eugenics and fate is determined by genes and inheritance. The whole theme of insurgents fighting occupying forces predated the Vietnam War itself, although once the book was published it coincided with both the escalation of the War and the protest movement.
I can’t figure out where the Arabist themes came from other than the Lawrence of Arabia film (1962), but if desertification is the ecological disaster, then I guess you need a desert people to own the natural world.
MacBook Pro On the Way: Single Mac Advantages
My 14″ MacBook Pro arrives Tuesday. I’m going to try migrating my workstation Mac Mini over. Here’s the guide I’m using from The Eclectic Light Company – “Macs, painting, and more” If you’ve never seen the site, have a look. Truly Eclectic.
I’m optimistic that I’ll be using Tinderbox for processing the notes flowing through the blog. One of the old fashioned aspects of the app is it’s lack of sync and iOS support. While the Tinderbox XML files can be stored in an iCloud or Dropbox folder just fine, if you work on a file with one computer you need to close the file before accessing it elsewhere. This limits my use to the workstation Mac mini.
The other app I depend on is Capture One for photography and it too is a single workstation program of the old school. They’re working, it seems on a cloud based storage system that will enable remote editing and iPad editing. DEVONthink successfully navigated this gulf and I hope Capture One does as well.
But using a single laptop for Mac usage will let me run both of the on the laptop and get away from the desk for editing Tinderbox files and images.
Is there really any limit to what any individual can accomplish? It seems that the single determinant is motivation to always being a better version of oneself. What’s the drive that pushes one to try harder next time? It can’t be based on what others think, only on having a better and better opinion of oneself. Pride and self esteem based on doing the work, not based on what others recognize.
