Binary Perspectives

Archive for April, 2010

With facebooks release of the universal ‘like’ button, several webmasters complained of an error on clicking the button. Probably, the way facebook read/parses the sites had changed since the sites complaining of this error also had a problem getting the thumbnails of their links and any meta data, to show up in their facebook posts. A user figured out why

http://forum.developers.facebook.com/viewtopic.php?pid=220462#p220462

you can see the complete thread at

http://www.vergegraphics.com/blog/joomla/77-facebook-like-button-module (Verge graphics joomla module for the ‘like’  button works really well)

NOTE: before you try the below please backup the originals…

Now to get rid of the spaces in a joomla template I had to

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Everyone’s a star. Our perfect lives are now on display for all to see, envy and comment upon. There now exists one more place where you can be, what you want the rest of your friends (if only tenuous) to think you are . Some of us have it down to perfection while we portray the perfect jerk, achiever, party hopper or all round ‘chill’ guy or gal. Why doesn’t everyone have to know what exactly we are doing or thinking?

The facebook phenomenon is in step with the general trend where voyeurism is an indispensable part of the average persons lifestyle. Reality shows, personal blogs, twitter feeds, facebook profile investigations etc., make us all part of this trend, with varying levels of participation. Ranging from smug observers to narcissistic participants…we each have our own reasons to be involved. Updates about our kids to the colour of our underwear…its all on facebook. Obviously then, it’s also nice to be able to control what others see or know about us. Given our modest and private dispositions, we have developed our own set of rules on how we communicate online, about the things that matter to us. Here are a few examples;

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My nine-year-old son knows he can get away with almost any request on his birthday…and that’s how our family ended up watching ‘Clash of the Titans’ the past Tuesday. Of course, the discounted ticket price did help play a part in the decision…even though I was skeptical, having read some unflattering reviews. Sam Worthington (Perseus), was cast yet again in the role of the outsider trying to fit in with the ‘good-guys’(?)… part human/part E.T à la avatar. Gemma Arterton, poorly scripted as the ageless female lead Io, flirted aimlessly with screen time, albeit playing a pivotal part in the plot. She did manage to stay impeccably coiffed through all the action. Liam Neeson’s Zeus looked like a cross between a goth, a hippy (maybe the hair stylist’s budget was blown on Gemma) and a white knight from a child’s fairytale B-flick. Hades, with a bad case of dry scalp, was well played by the psyche-menacing abilities of Ralph Fiennes. Perhaps the character role of the movie was Mads Mikkelsens Draco, which really…isn’t saying much. Draco and the rest of the warrior dudes sported well-braided hairdo’s, perhaps as compensation for the failings of the character development process. The hair stylist was definitely anti-god.

I guess the script was focused on showing off the special effects, which did not disappoint. The non-stop action sequences anchored by effects on steroids did its part in keeping it all together and interesting. A perfect example of how digital wizardry can sometimes compensate for shallow characters and script, making for some very decent entertainment.

Plan to give the DVD a pass. If you can, watch it on the big screen…preferably on a Tuesday.