August, 3, 2003 archives

so i wrote some code to spit out tivo data in xmltv format, so you can now see (assuming you can read xml) what is playing now on my tivo and what is currently saved. the info updates every five minutes and hourly, respectively.

there's more interesting info that could be added to the now playing data (like whether what is playing is live or not) and the saved shows (such as whether why the tivo recorded them).

and, of course, some sort of html transformation of the data would make it easier for puny humans to laugh at me. maybe next weekend.

so it turns out i had already seen small time crooks, but i went ahead and watched it again. it's a pretty good later-woody-allen film, although there's two aspects that stick out like sore thumbs: allen's character spits out strange gleason-esque threats to his wife, and much of the supporting cast completely vanishes about halfway through the film.

anyone paying careful attention to my silly netflix rental history may have noticed there were two films i recently watched but hadn't mentioned: the first two films in krzysztof kieslowski's trois couleurs (three colors) trilogy. i finally got around to watching rouge (red), the final film. the first is bleu (blue), and the middle film is blanc (white).

all three are quite amazing films, and i'd say they get progressively better. the cinematography in red is incredible. (and then there's the story, and the acting, and the sound design, and ….)

the colors refer to the colors of the french flag, and each film takes its thematic cue from what that color represents: liberty (blue), equality (white), and fraternity (red). each story stands on its own, although there are a few common touchpoints (particularly at the end of red).

i definitely have to watch all three films again (and likely buy them), and can't wait to see kieslowski's dekalog (the decalogue): ten one-hour films based on the ten commandments. (which is being reissued on dvd in a couple of weeks.)

i'll be at linuxworld 2003 the next few days. expect a photo or two.

(i'm primarily going up to get together with coworkers, so apologies in advance to the sf-dwellers who i haven't let know i'll be in town. i'll probably be back in the bay area in october, and will have more time then.)