Severance is quite a streaming hit for Apple TV+ and Apple is going all in on hyping the show and it’s Mac computers on the Apple Store.
To push a behind the scenes look at the editing of Severance on Mac computers Apple added a pro version of the Lumon computer used in the show to the Apple Store website. Of course, they added the Pro version. You can visit the page while it’s still around by going to the Apple website and selecting Mac, then selecting The Lumon Terminal Pro at the top of the page. The video link is included on that webpage.
By the way, the behind the scenes video of the editing process using Macs and Apple software is quite good and worth a watch.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
Here is the U.S we’re heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, already surrounded by the madness of Black Friday, coupled with anxiety brought about by the recent election. It feels like everyday has been Black Friday under dark cloudy political skies for too long already, and of course that will continue straight into Christmas and beyond.
Here’s a thought. If you gather with friends and family this Thanksgiving, instead of watching football or squabbling over politics, tune everybody into the Netflix documentary Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. The trailer is embedded above.
This somewhat entertaining documentary (it’s presentation conceit feels a bit too cutesy for my tastes), tackles the problems of rampant consumerism through a prism of what happens to all the stuff we buy this Black Friday, those previous, those to come, and any other day of the year.
The highlights of the series are the short cut interviews with former employees of Amazon, Adidas, Apple, folks from the fashion industry, and activists who are trying to address the issues of the large amount of waste created with all of our purchasing power.
If you’ve even remotely been paying attention to the world, there won’t be any grand surprises about the large amounts of unrecyclable waste we’re swimming in and adding to. That said, hearing some of the folks who feel responsible for their own decisions that led their company down that path of excess discuss their shifts in thinking makes the piece worthwhile.
There also aren’t any real surprises in the way the documentary lays out the tricks of the marketing trade to convince us to buy more stuff. Addressing the issue through a perspective of saying we could all buy less certainly makes sense, but given we all know that the game is rigged no differently than carnival games are, it makes one wonder why we do keep coming back each time the circus tents get pitched.
Style points and lack of surprises aside, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is worth viewing, especially I would think if you have younger ones in your holiday household who might still be impressionable.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
Aliens Haven’t Landed, but these “Hairy Balls” Sure Look Out of This World.
Stumbled across these alien looking pods this weekend on a walk around the neighborhood. They are called Balloon or Puffball Milkweed, and also according to the neighbor who tends the corner garden “Hairy Balls.”
She had an open pod and showed what the seeds inside look like.
There’s a gallery of more shots after the Read More link below.
There’s more iPhone 16 Pro Photography and quite a few pumpkins in this post also.
You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome.I can also be found on social media under my name as above.
iPhone 16 Pro Photography and Photographic Styles demo.
I’m always grateful that Apple releases new iPhones in September. It comes during the period when supermarkets are stocking up on pumpkins, gourds and other Cucurbits. Obviously one of the first things you check out on a new iPhone is whatever changes and improvements Apple makes to the cameras, and these colorful counters are a great location to do so.
Here’s a few shots taken during a supermarket tour playing around with different camera settings and what Apple now calls Photographic Styles. First up is just a series of photos in a gallery all using the Standard setting.
Following the Continue Reading break below are two videos showing off the differences in Photographic Styles Apple offers and more photos.
What a grand weekend! My daughter dropped off the grandkids for a sleepover with Grandpa and Grandma on Friday as she came into town to support our son-in-law in his job producing content for the Professional Fighters League. We had a blast keeping up with the kids, discovering the wonders of Grandpa’s house, and hanging out with their Mom and Dad and my wife’s mother.
Good times watching these two little ones on their journeys into bigger ones.
Sometimes it’s about the script. Sometimes it’s about the performers. Often it’s about the directors. The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix and The Changeling on Apple TV+ are two streaming series I’d recommend watching for the directors. Especially if you like something fun and a bit scary during the Halloween season.
Personally, I’m not a fan of most of the Halloween genre. Hollywood has drained the life out of the fun and scary in the same way the overabundance of Christmas movies have stripped all of the joy out of that holiday viewing. But my wife enjoys a scary movie or two so we try to pick some that are worthwhile. We lucked out with these two.
Neither are perfect. Both have flaws. But both have directors who use the opportunity to experiment with their storytelling skills, the camera and the genre. Both are good viewing fun. Both are based on existing literature: The Changeling by Victor LaValle and The Fall of the House of Usherby Edgar Allan Poe. Although part of the fun with Usher is how so many other of Poe’s tales weave in and out of the main story. If you’re a Poe fan you’ll have a blast with the obvious and not so obvious references.
The directors for The Fall of the House of the Usherare Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari and the directors for The Changeling are Melina Matsoukas, Jonathan van Tulleken, Dana Gonzales, and Michael Francis Williams. All of the directors know when to crank it up and when to let their actors do their thing. There’s not much fear in creating fear here. But there’s more than enough intelligence in doing it well while only occasionally going over the top.
Both series also have some delicious performances especially Carla Gugino in Usher and Adina Porter and Jane Kaczmarek in The Changeling. That’s not to slight any of the other actors. Both casts have some remarkable opportunities and actors who take full advantage.
If you enjoy watching directors have fun I’d highly recommend both The Fall of the House of Usher and The Changeling. If there’s a disappointment it’s that there’s no news yet as to whether or not The Changelingwill get a second season after it’s cliff hanger ending.
Summer is inching its way to fall. So here’s some Sunday Morning Reading to share for a long sleepy Labor Day weekend here in the US. Grab some coffee.
There’s lots of words being written about the shaky state of theatre in the US at the moment. (I expect I’ll spill out a few this week.) MIchael Paulson has a good take about the challenges of the subscription model and what that might mean for the industry in Hitting Theater Hard: The Loss of Subscribers Who Went To Everything.
Proust. Yeah, that guy. There’s seemingly a Proust for everybody and Adam Gopnik takes a look into what might be the real one in What We Find When We Get Lost in Proust.
Who knew Country Music would get embroiled in the so-called “Culture Wars.” Well, unless you haven’t been paying attention, just about everybody. Because hey, just about everything gets caught up at one time or the other. Emily Nussbaum has a terrific long read in Country Music’s Culture Wars And The Remaking of Nashville. FYI: No mention of some guy not born in a small town but singing as if he was.
If you’re looking for a collection of good writers and good writing you won’t go wrong with Ellemeno Magazine on Medium. Some top notch and provactive stuff going on there. Because there’s so much quality writing, I don’t feel so guilty for not recommending more this selections this Sunday.
If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.
As the picture says, I’m on lake time this Sunday morning. So the list of suggested Sunday Morning Reading topics is a shorter one. Here’s hoping you find a little weekend time to chill as well.
Theatre and opera director Adele Thomas talks about her beginnings, her art and her career and how artists and the challenges (financial and otherwise) that directors face trying to get a career going. Good interview by Fiona Maddocks.
Some Sunday Morning Reading for Father’s Day. There’s no real theme to this week’s edition. Which is fitting. We used to joke that my Dad had a new hobby every six months. He did. But that just demonstrated his endless curiosity about the world around us. I think I got some of that tossed into my mix. So here’s a pot-pourri of topics to share.
What came first the chicken or the egg? Well that age-old riddle leaves the rest of the egg-laying species out of the question. Intriguing piece by Nisha Zahid.
And while we’re talking about the riddles that plague humans about the non-humans sharing our planet, Ari Daniel highlights an article in Cell that says an Octopuses can tweak the RNA in their brains to adjust to warmer and cooler waters.
This is a scary and sad tale. Gina Dimuro tells us about Blanche Monnier. Her parents locked her in her room for 25 years after she fell in love with the wrong kind of guy.
If you’re interseted in just what the heck Sunday Morning Reading is all about you can read more about the origins of Sunday Morning Reading here.
Here’s a few shots taken during a supermarket tour playing around with different camera settings and what Apple now calls Photographic Styles. First up is just a series of photos in a gallery all using the Standard setting. 
Life on the Wicked Stage: Act 3 