It's called Friendster, not "Fuckster" or "Makeoutster"
Posted by: j_john
I realize a post about Friendster is about as new and relevant as Pokemon, but I've been thinking recently about Mike's claim to possibly be the first Friendster. I found an article in the Village Voice which, along with the recent Willamette Week one, mentions "by May, just three months after its beta release, the site had grown to over 300,000 users."
Huh? Where is this information coming from? Three months before May would be February, and I was clued into the F-ster back in late 2002. Sometimes I think Mike is connected to some inner-circle of intelligence which he uses to disperse his knowledge to the masses...
Anyway, after finally fully accepting the concept of Friendster a few weeks ago I have already become somewhat bored with it. I like what this piece has to say about the new less-intense dating applications of it, but who really feels like keeping in contact with 200,000 "friends"?
Secret movie stuff
Posted by: j_john
Growing increasingly impatient at the thought of waiting weeks to see the new film by my favorite filmmaker John Sayles, I had recently been concentrating on forcing my way into a preview screening for "Silver Screen Members" at the NW Film Center. However, as a result of my many movie connections in the city of Portland I was invited on Monday to a special press screening of "Casa De Los Babys" by my awesome co-worker and fellow Sayles fan Margaret.
Three reasons why this situation was completely great: the screening took place at Cinema 21 (less than 2 blocks from my apartment), I found out about it literally 5 mintues before the movie started (thrill of the unexpected), and I didn't have to deal with a whole theater full of potentially annoying people. It was awesome. Oh, and the movie was of course really good, although I have to see it again before I can feel comfortable giving an accurate review--I was too excited by my sudden opportunity. One thing I can say for sure is, Maggie Gyllenhaal has replaced Reese Witherspoon as my new movie-star crush.
Who put the melodrama in my helping of indie film?
Posted by: j_john
Tonight I saw my first previews of the new Coen Bros. and John Sayles films, "Intolerable Cruelty" and "Casa De Los Babys"--and was extremely dissapointed. Usually I am filled with this wonderful feeling of anticipation upon seeing what my two favorite contemporary filmmakers are releasing. However, after seeing these trailers I just wanted to (hopefully) place the blame on the marketing people--the films can't be as bad as the way they advertised them, can they?
My main complaint with both of them was the attempt to promote the romantic elements, which I guess is good if you're trying to lure in the female audience. The Coens and Sayles have never been about pure romance, their films are much more complex and I feel like these trailers were all just one mood. Perhaps I will eventually see the ones that were edited to bring in the geeky film auteurs.
Merrill bros. make my life more awesome
Posted by: j_john
thanks
