Sounds + Food 'n' Retail

Just some random thoughts for this evening…

Imax
Making 3-d films is an expensive and complex process. You need to shoot from separate perspectives, one for each eye. And it requires a specific environment to be viewed in. A dark room yes, a screen, and glasses, but most of all, the distance between you and the screen needs to be as large as possible to get the full 3-dimensional effect.

I think all cinemas should go 3-D. With home-cinemas becoming so accessible and prominent, with movie-piracy, I think the best way for a film to stay exclusive is to make it in a format that is hard to replicate at home, and where it's hard to give a copy to your friend.

I like cinemas, because they are a social experience to be shared with friends. Just like going out clubbing, or eating in a restaurant. It's a third place that has been in constant trouble since the television, the videotape and derivatives, and the internet. I hope that innovation will continue to happen, and, more importantly, will continue to be exploited.

Guinness
Give me a whiskey over a beer any day… but of all beers, Guinness is probably my favourite. It just feels like a real drink, and I fondly remember discovering it for real in Dublin, Ireland a few years ago. What I also like is that the whole process of drinking it is a ritual.

Guinness has been around for ca. 250 years, and it's constantly remained a niche-product. Over the last decade or so, it has tried to fight back the competition with a number of varieties, the latest of which is Guinness Red. It's supposed to be a lighter, sweeter version of the brew.

I'm sceptical. I think Guinness should try to remain special and not try to become closer to other, regular beers. But that's just me.

Pie
Lately there seems to be a revival of pie in US popular media. Last week I saw a movie, called Waitress. It's about a… waitress, who lives with an abusive husband and wants to get out. Her therapy is making pie. Every time she has an experience, she invents a new recipe to match in her head.

It's a sweet movie, worth a watch.

And then there's a new series this season, called Pushing Daisies, which is about a guy who has the power to bring people back to life… but only for a minute because then someone else has to die… it's complicated. But he also owns a pie-shop, and again this whole series is quite ingrained with this whole pie-ritual.

Not a bad series either, light entertainment until Lost and Battlestar Galactica start again.

But really, I don't get what has brought about this focus on pies and wish someone could explain it to me. What's the big deal?

Have a nice weekend!