On the 8 Spot

Why does the gunslinger who draws first always get shot?

Posted on: February 2, 2010 7:00 PM, by Ed Yong

In Western films, the gunslinger that draws first always gets shot. This seems like a standard Hollywood trope but it diverted the attention of no less a scientist that Niels Bohr, one of history's greatest physicists. Taking time off from solving the structure of the atom, Bohr suggested that it takes more time to initiate a movement than to react to the same movement. Perversely, the second gunslinger wins because they're responding to their opponent's draw.

Now, Andrew Welchman from the University of Birmingham has found that there's something to Bohr's explanation. People do indeed have a “reactive advantage”, where they execute a movement about 10% more quickly if they're reacting to an opponent. Of course, ethics committees might frown on scientists duelling with the pistols in the name of discovery, even if the people in question were graduate students. So Welchman designed a laboratory gunfight, played out using buttons rather than guns.

via Why does the gunslinger who draws first always get shot? : Not Exactly Rocket Science.

I first heard of two films that I loved watching in the after Sundance blog posts. These films I loved are “Brick” and “500 Days of Summer” (If only “The Assassination of a Highschool President” took of, but it seems it was too close to brick that it wasn’t viewed as favourably by distributors). This is why as friend jason said we were one of the first to get excited about “500 Days of Summer”. Hope I can be at Sundance one day (Keep On Dreaming). This is a nice primer from favorite film critic Ebert on some films from Sundance.

Hope you can read the whole linked post!!!

Of the feel of theaters and audiences,

and eight films from Sundance

By

Roger Ebert

on January 30, 2010 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (68)

jack.jpgI saw my final film of Sundance 2010 here in Chicago. It was my best Sundance experience, and I want to tell you why. The film was “Jack Goes Boating,” the directorial debut of Philip Seymour Hoffman. It played here in the Music Box, as part of the “Sundance USA” outreach program, which has enlisted eight art theaters around the country to play Sundance entries while the festival is still underway.

via Of the feel of theaters and audiences, and eight films from Sundance – Roger Ebert’s Journal.

Loved watching this months ago (maybe even a year).

Reposting(I’ve posted this video before) this

because maybe I need to remember that things are amazing and what I do now is find things to complain about.

As Rule 32 (I think) says:: “Enjoy the little things!”

This looks cool!!!! A vengeance type of tale, looks interesting!!!! I wonder how much they are going to change from the admittedly thin backstories of the characters!!! thanks to cgt for the pointer

PS: According to the youtube page this is an independent movie, and that is the reasons the character’s look were consistent with the video game. Nice!!!!!

Some people are too obsessed with labels and appearances that they end up finding nothing. from Moshe Safdie’s TED talk(I’d link to the talk but I’m a little too tired to be nothing but lazy!!!!):

He who seeks truth shall find beauty.
He who seeks beauty shall find vanity.
He who seeks order shall find gratification.
He who seeks gratification shall be disappointed.
He who considers himself the servant of his fellow beings shall find the joy of self expression.
He who seeks self expression shall fall into the pit of arrogance.
Arrogance is incompatible with nature.
Through nature, the nature of the universe, and the nature of man, we shall seek truth.
If we seek truth, we shall find beauty.

Read the whole thing here, and the article that prompted the post from paste mag here.

No, “indie” isn’t dead. Indie has just become a genre. And I’d like us to make a distinction between the “indie” of Belle and Sebastian or Vampire Weekend and the “indie rock” of Pavement or Superchunk, thank you very much.

As a side note, the “badge of honor” of being “true punk” or “true indie” is silly. It’s a distraction from the real, meaningful questions: Is the music good? Is the music truthful? (From the heart, inspired by experience, informed by a viewpoint; authenticty.) Do people like it? Does it improve their lives? Does it inspire them to be greater?

Whether the music comes from a bedroom or a boardroom does not singularly determine the answers to those questions.

No, indie isn’t dead. But what’s next?

via Classical Geek Theatre: Is Indie dead?.

At the start of this campaign I was hopeful, I didn’t think that the two contenders were too far apart if what they could possibly do. What one lacked in experience he made up for with the enthusiasm and moral authority people believe he had. The other one may lack this but he more than made up for it with his managerial ability and a solid foundation in what works in business. This is bad for our country. It seems that Vince would probably win our 20 year bet on the Philippines.