tim merritt [dot] net

Creative Loafing Atlanta | FLICKS | KISS KISS BANG BANG
“The foundation of American cinema is crime. One of film history’s most important early films, Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 silent The Great Train Robbery, was a crime story featuring the adrenaline rush of a robber pointing his gun directly at the audience. The taste for criminal mayhem hasn’t abated since. The High Museum celebrates the vicarious pleasures of grifters and stickup men in its series Thieves Like Us June 4-June 25. The very title references our alliance with the cinematic criminal class.”

Doubt I’ll get to see many, if any, of these films, but I would love to.

Jim Wallis Speaks at Ebenezer Baptist in Atlanta

Ellen and I went to hear him speak, and ended up hearing him preach. It was a full service and Wallis gave his inspiring message about the Bible’s call for social justice, its emphasis on helping the poor.

The service was presented by the [Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta](http://www.rccatl.org/tiki-read_article.php?articleId=33). Wallis is president of [Call to Renewal](http://www.calltorenewal.org/), an effort working for social and economic justice, and is Editor-in-Chief and Executive Director of [Sojourners](http://www.sojo.net) magazine.

MineZone Wiki – MVance.GettingThingsDone

I’m re-committing to Getting Things Done; this is a one-page summation of the whole thing.

CHOICE TABLES: PARIS; Quirky Spots The Locals Love But Don’t Reveal

The NY Times lists these no-longer-obscure restaurants; posted because we’ll get hungry when we go there, and I’ll be damned before I eat at McDonalds there.

Polymath and editing demi-god Walter Murch holds forth at a digital video conference in a Flash video stream – here’s a direct link to the stream. Murch created the terms “sound designer” and “sound montage,” won an Oscar for Best Sound for Apocalypse Now, dual Oscars for The English Patient (Editing and Sound Editing), Oscar noms for The Conversation and other films, and did the restoration film and sound editing for the 1998 re-release of Touch of Evil. BTW “sound montage” in The Conversation’s credits is an accurate description. And remember: it was 1974, and this meant miles of tape and razor blades for crying out loud. There was a group of terrific conversations on various NPR programs a few years ago. On Fresh Air, I believe, he spoke with with Anthony Minghella about editing choices in The English Patient, specifically the interrogation scene with Willem Defoe. Fascinating and illuminating.

Today is Ellen’s birthday, but we’re not celebrating together since in Arkansas. She went for our sister-in-law’s pinning ceremony – Andrea’s graduating from nursing school, and if anyone is capable of the tough love necessary to be a good nurse, it’s Andrea.

A note here to say, publicly on on the site, that meeting, courting, marrying, and living with Ellen has been the best sequence of events in my life since being born. (Okay, you two readers, together now: “Awwww!”) Step-dadding the boys has not been the challenge I expected; it’s been a different, more challenging challenge, and all the better for not being what I thought I expected.

Happy birthday, sweetheart.

This would be fun to try.

Mad Mac mini multimedia machine, Part 1: Load Linux on the Mac mini
The Mac mini is an ideal low-cost, high-performance PowerPC development platform for numerous applications. Learn how to install and configure Linux on the mini. Future articles will add the software required to make it into a stand-alone multimedia appliance.

Isfahan The Movie: “an animated film inspired by the Persian architecture.” Stefan recommended it. I’ll reward myself with a viewing and a post when I’m done editing a video for the college.

Macworld: Mac Gems: Tiger’s Gem-worthy Features

I’m archiving this link for when I put Tiger on my Mac.

Quick Sunday Morning note: [Anne Lamott’s Plan B – Further Thoughts on Faith](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1573222992/104-6157023-0711911?v=glance) is funny and moving. We have it from the library, and it’s so good I want to go buy a copy. (I’ll wait for trade paper, though.)