Disqus - Latest Comments for Josiah St. John

Re: Abandon Hope

Josiah St. John — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:05:06 -0000

Omega Man is alright... as long as you don't view it as an adaptation of I am Legend. That said, I'm going to be really disappointed if this version isn't at least reasonably faithful to the book. It's a shame cos Johnny Depp is ideal as the hero, much better casting than Charlton Heston.

On the plus side, at least we won't have Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, as was mooted back in the 90s when this adaptation was first mooted.

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait another thirty years before the next film version is made, hopefully that'll be better. :)

Re: Bean is The Hitcher

Josiah St. John — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:08:40 -0000

Sean Bean's casting doesn't matter to me. But like you, I don't honestly see the point of a remake of The Hitcher. How can anyone hope to even come close Rutger Hauer's absolutely stunning and iconic performance in the original?

Re: Bean is The Hitcher

Josiah St. John — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 14:55:32 -0000

They are doing *what*??? Remaking The Birds? How can anyone even begin to think that a remake of The Birds is a good idea? Honestly, I've heard it all now...

Re: Abandon Hope

Josiah St. John — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 15:34:23 -0000

Yeah, I guess that I'm holding out for a TV mini-series or something. It's a bit sad that there's never been a good film/TV adaptation of what is one of the best and most important horror/sci-fi novels ever written.

Also, it vies with 'Do androids dream of electric sheep?' for the coveted 'Josiah St. John Best Title Award'. :)

Re: Apple Keynote: Response

Josiah St. John — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 19:00:55 -0000

Good article as ever, thanks!

A couple of things strike me. Firstly, I'm a long-term Linux user, it's by far my favourite OS. However, I have a soft spot for Macs, which I always think of as having most of the advantages of Linux together with a GUI that's second to none.

One thing that struck me is that when I first switched to Linux I had much the same reaction that you did as regards virtual desktops. They quickly came to be an indispensable part of the way I worked--I now organise my desktops so that I have my PIM stuff on one, browsers on another, work on another and any terminals or stuff like that on a fourth. It keeps things very clean. It's a feature that Windows is in desperate need of (it's not the only thing Windows is in desperate need of!!).

I can see how the concept of the virtual desktop is less necessary on the Mac because of the way the desktop is set up; however, it's definitely worth giving them a spin for a couple of weeks to see if they help at all. I honestly can't work effectively without them nowadays!

Time Machine sounds like it will go quite a few steps beyond what MS were trying to do with WinFS (which sounded more like a beefed up version of Linux's ReiserFS than anything) and I hope it'll set a standard that others will follow. That said, I expect MS to continue with their terrible System Restore programme for the foreseeable future.

I have issues with Mac's Mail programme--not in terms of the interface. Things like the Todo lists are very welcome--and a step in the right direction. For too long PIMs haven't had functionality like this which I regard as pretty basic. I have issues with the format they store the email in. That said, that's not a complaint directed solely at Apple, MS do the same (only worse).

And Oliver, I remember when 10.4 came out and I thought much the same as you do--that it was more like a big update with a couple of new features rather than a true upgrade. It was only after I'd been using it for a couple of months and i went back to a computer running 10.3 that I realising just how much had improved and how dependent I'd become on the features. I expect 10.5 to follow much the same pattern: be an essential upgrade masquerading as a minor update. :)

Re: Me And My Blog: 12 Months Of Blogging

Josiah St. John — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 18:44:49 -0000

One day you should probably give writing fiction a go! It's a lot of fun. Not that I ever write fiction, you understand...

Congrats on your first anniversary!

Re: Movie Review: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Josiah St. John — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:56:56 -0000

You make me all the more happy that I've been sutdious avoiding this film since its release.

I've no problems with remakes (the Vincent Price remake of the House of Wax is a great example of how a remake can go well), but the remake of TCM was pointless and this sequel just got me worried that they were just trying to milk a cash cow while killing the cow at the same time.