We took the girls to see WALL-E today and I’m not sure who loved it more – me or the kids. This, of course, made me start thinking about why the movie was so good. So I’ve put together a short list of why you’ll love WALL-E.
1. Very Little Dialogue – the almost complete lack of dialogue (unless you count beeps and the occasional “Wallllleeeeee”) allows you to focus on what’s going on. You pick up on the stunning scenery and the characters’ little quirks. You actually enjoy watching the movie rather than hearing it.
2. The Environment – A theme that hopefully isn’t subtle for adults, but may not be picked up for kids, is that the Earth is headed for a fate similar to the one in the movie. If we don’t do something soon to save our planet, the garbage and pollution will force us to take to the stars as well. This is a clever way to ingrain this message in kids.
3. Health – Similar to the environmental overtones, the movie shows the humans who survived as fat and lazy. Adults should pick up on the similarity to the nation’s obesity problems, but hopefully kids pick up on the fact that when you don’t do anything you become fat, lazy, and powerless.
4. Eve – WALL-E’s love interest Eve was designed by none other than Apple’s own Jonathon Ive – designer of the iPod. Who doesn’t love a movie where Apple products are sleek, sexy, and user-friendly?
5. Easter Eggs – Before you go, check out this post on WALL-E’s Easter Eggs – hidden facts or pictures in the movie. This way you turn the movie into a game as you try and find all the easter eggs.
6. Adult Humor – And by “adult humor” I mean the non-dirty above-your-kids-head way. It used to be that Disney movies were all about the kids. But as competition for kids movies has heated up (read: Shrek) Disney has been adding little bits of “adult” humor into their movies. There were at least a few times during the movie when one of the girls turned to me and asked, “what are you laughing at dad?”
If I was going to recommend one movie to see this year so far… it would be WALL-E.
After a conversation today about the latest iPhone rumors, a coworker was recently impressed with how much I knew about the latest gadgets, rumors, and trends in technology. He asked how I kept up with it all – which is a valid questions when you think about how much information is out there. TV, radio, cell phones, the internet, laptops… there are a ton of ways to get information, but very few helpful ways to disseminate that information into comprehensible pieces.
I told my coworker about RSS and was really surprised he hadn’t heard about it before. My Google Reader (feed reader of choice) is essential to my daily routine. I even have a link to Google Reader on my iPhone so I can check it from anywhere!
So this post is my encouragement for anyone and everyone out there to start using a feed reader to help you keep up-to-date with what interests you. You want to keep up-to-date with politics? Subscribe to your favorite political blog or even CNN’s political news feed.
You prefer to keep up to date with iPhone rumors? There are plenty of blogs that you can follow with only a click or two.
So, to help you get started with Google Reader be sure to check out Andy Wibbels’ How-to Video. But in reality, it couldn’t be easier to get started with Google Reader… so get going!
There are a TON of apps that I could spend days rambling about, but one of my favorites that I always convince family and friends to install is Quicksilver.
Not sure what Quicksilver is? It’s a luncher, a search tool, a shortcut tool, a butler, a maid, and a kitchen sink. It’s everything! And every day I read about people who have created yet another plugin to further enhance the program.
But if you’re new to Quicksilver, or want to just see what all the fuss is about, then check out the two screencasts that my friends over at TheAppleBlog cooked up. These videos for beginners will introduce you to the wonderful world of Quicksilver. And I promise you, once you’ve seen Quicksilver… you’ll never go back!
My brother-in-law and his friends just posted this video of Mika’s new Grace Kelly song. It’s actually very well done for a bunch of college kids and a local park…
When I saw this design by Yann Le Coroller today I cried… just a little.
This ultra portable “Mactab” is designed as the complement to MacBook. The incredibly thin wireless keyboard is also used as a protection cover for transportation. It stays in place with a combination of magnets and notches. On the back of the computer, a hinge allows it to be put in a vertical position so you can use Mactab comfortably on your desk.
There’s not much else to say, so I’ll just let you just stare… I know I did.
If you’re like me, your desk looks a little like this:
With the growing number of peripherals we are accumulating every day – external hard drives, printers, scanners, speakers, iPod docks, camera docks, etc. it’s tough to keep your desk clean enough to actually use.
1. Very Little Dialogue – the almost complete lack of dialogue (unless you count beeps and the occasional “Wallllleeeeee”) allows you to focus on what’s going on. You pick up on the stunning scenery and the characters’ little quirks. You actually enjoy watching the movie rather than hearing it. 
