That is exactly what Marco Arment is (a geek about different things than I am, willing to share findings) when he reviews Coffee Joulies (which started as a Kickstarter project). When he and others linked to this Kickstarter project I was moments away from backing the project before I thought these little guys were a bit superfluous for me. Yet, I had hopes that when they did come out they’d be either good or great and I’d eventually cave and buy a set. Turns out that Marco’s findings, regrettably, are that they really aren’t worth buying.

Thanks for saving me money Marco.

I recently finished reading Prey by Michael Crichton. I’m a big Crichton fan for nearly no other reason than because my first book that I ever read, on my own without the nagging of any teachers or parents, was Jurassic Park. That and he knows how to write a book that makes you want to keep reading until the end.

Prey was disappointing in a few ways. It was a page turner but only because I had the feeling that it was going to end well and make up for the lack of meat in the middle of the book. It was one of those stories where you hoped the ending would make it worth reading. The ending wasn’t horrible but it left you with a sense that Crichton really didn’t know how to end the story. Stories that you want to be over are never good stories.

Crichton seems motived to write by his opinions on matters of economy, technology, or politics. Which is fine – any reason to write is a good reason – but if you can’t wrap a good enough story around an opinion then all you are left with is an opinion – and everyone has those.

At the end of the day Prey is decent book to read but you will never tell anyone else to go pick up the book and read it. Which is why I’m not telling you to do that. I suggest picking up one of Crichton’s classics instead like The Adromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Congo (horrible movie, great book), The Terminal Man, or Sphere.

For the past several weeks we’ve been interviewing for various positions at Viddler. We’ve gone through several resumes, conducted a few interviews, probed referrals for information about the interviewees, sent follow-up questions, and generally debated the fate of our would-be potential new team members for what seems like weeks. This is an interesting process on both sides of the table. I’ve been on the other side of the table more times than I care to recount, but it really is an interesting process to pour over one’s career (or lack thereof) to somehow build an opinion of someone.

It is somewhat disingenious to be sure. We could never really, really get to know this person based on a one-page document that they probably threw together the night before their interview. “Experiences? Why yes, I have those! X, Y, and Z. I’m familiar with them.” Seldom do resumes reveal the extent of that familiarity. Did the person take the time to prioritize the things they are experienced in based on the amount of time they’ve spent with them? Or, did they list them in order of the supposed importance for the job at hand? Or, did they write down anything they thought might be good to know for the job? No one can be sure – really – at least for the first few weeks they are on the job.

Then there is the entire struggle to really get to know who someone is. To peel away the nerves, the front they are showing in order to impress us, the bullet points on the resume, and the clothes they wore to the interview to reveal who the person is after they’ve known us for a few years. Do they like to cook? Have they traveled? Do they want to? What do they think about family? Religion? The state of the economy? Are they really a morning person or are they just saying that they are? Time, it seems, is the only tool that can be used to find out the answers to these questions.

Sorry. I’m ranting. That isn’t what this post was supposed to be about.

I wanted to review Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I just finished it the other day. The book reminded me of this process. Kitchen Confidential, it could be said, is the resume of Anthony Bourdain – a New York City chef that has 30+ years experience working in what he calls “The under belly”. The book begins with his first experience eating a raw oyster in French waters when he was just 9 years old. That one, raw, delicious oyster changed his entire life. I’m guessing it would be the first bullet point on his resume.

But this book serves as something much better than a resume. Resumes are cold, factual, and do not leave room for too much expression. The “story”, if there is really a story in this book, is revealed to us in a rather haphazard way. He bounces around through his career to slowly describe who he is through what he experienced. Want to know his thoughts on meat? You’ll slowly begin to draw that picture based on several experiences he had at many of his jobs. Tip: Don’t ask for your meat to be well done. Want to know when to order seafood? Learn from the guy who buys the stuff in the hundreds of pounds. Hint: Not on Monday or Tuesday. What about his thoughts about personal work ethic? Immigrant labor? Race? Gender? Or even about who should or should definitely not own a restaurant? You’ll need to read the entire book to find out.

I’m not sure what I find fascinating about Anthony Bourdain other than his style of thought. It is obvious, when he’s given the opportunity, that he chooses his words fairly carefully. I suppose I see an older version of myself somewhere in there. Someone who notices the little things, enjoys the fine things, can only afford the not-so-fine things, and yet has the privilege to once and a while dip my hand into the “fine things cookie jar”. A self-reflective kinda dude. It could be that I would love to have his job (not the chef bit, but the traveling eater raconteur bit). Either way, I’m enjoying my attempt to glean as much experience vicariously through Anthony Bourdain as I can. His show, his books, his blog are all my tools in building my own food, travel, and writing resume without the expense.

Kitchen Confidential, for some one that even remotely enjoys food, the restraunt business, or interesting people, is an essential addition to the book shelf. It has inspired me to continue to do what I love, to be willing to have my mind madeover later in life when my ideals are proven incorrect, to learn as much as I can from every single job that I do in order to make the next one better, to build a list of hard working people that I wouldn’t mind working with again in the future, and to eat weird in hope of epiphany.

In this review Justin describes his experiences with the BlackRapid R-Strap, a shoulder strap tailored for photographers with DSLRs that would like to have quick access to their camera and also enjoy a hands-free experience when they are not shooting with that camera.

As Dan Benjamin points out – be sure to watch the videos. 

Source: BlackRapid R-Strap.
Additional resources: BlackRapid’s Web site.

Sameer Barkawi, friend and film-student (oh, and actor), has written his thoughts on the movie after seeing it opening night. He compares the movie to 1994′s Forrest Gump, in a rather bad way. I loved Forrest Gump, btw. Oddly, he didn’t enjoy Brad Pitt’s performance even though he’s been nominated for a few awards because of it.

I would still like to see the film, but I trust Sameer’s judgement – and so I may wait until the DVD is released and I get to see it for free.

Source: Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

“M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, The Happening, is not merely bad. It is an astonishment, so idiotic in conception and inept in execution that, after seeing it, one almost wonders whether it was real or imagined. It’s the kind of movie you want to laugh about with friends, swapping favorite moments of inanity: “Do you remember the part when Mark Wahlberg … ?” “God, yes. And what about that scene where the wind … ?”

“The problem, of course, is that to have such a conversation, you’d normally have to see the movie, which I believe is an unreasonably high price to pay just to make fun of it. So rather than write a conventional review explaining why you should or shouldn’t see The Happening (trust me, you shouldn’t), I’m offering an alternative: A dozen and a half of the most mind-bendingly ridiculous elements of the film, which will enable you to marvel at its anti-genius without sacrificing (and I don’t use that term lightly) 90 minutes of your life.”

His words, not mine.  Though with an average rating of 4.1 on the movie review Web site Rotten Tomatoes, perhaps he is right on the money.

Source: The Movie Review: ‘The Happening’.
Hat tip: Kyle Slattery, Jason Kottke, Coudal Partners.