Peter Thiel on the Future of Innovation

~ Mark

Good stuff here. I appreciate the range and pace. It’s a little bit obnoxious, too, but better that than boring.

TYLER COWEN: It’s like Beach Boys music. Sounds optimistic on the surface but it’s deeply sad and melancholy.

And also:

PETER THIEL: I remember a professor once told me back in the ’80s that writing a book was more dangerous than having a child because you could always disown a child if it turned out badly.

And also:

PETER THIEL: I think often the smarter people are more prone to trendy, fashionable thinking because they can pick up on things, they can pick up on cues more easily, and so they’re even more trapped by it than people of average ability.

Etc.

Peter Thiel on the Future of Innovation

~ Mark

I was out on a trip recently, and had been away from home for two weeks. I missed it much more than I thought I would. But then I was finally on the plane again.

I find flights pretty relaxing in general, something about the ambient hum of brown noise from wind and engines, and just enough oxygen to keep your body functioning. I can grab some fitful sleep, here and there, but most of my time was spent watching movies, and the clock. I managed to doze off again for an hour or so near the end of the flight.

I woke up. Too groggy and loopy to think much, but I put my earphones in and put my music on shuffle. I slowly inch the window shade up and squint out as my eyes adjust. It was a fresh morning for me, late morning in California, and I was finally just one more leg away from home. I’d been over the Pacific for about 12 hours, and as our path broke the coastline of California, Fleetwood Mac’s “Sara” shuffles on. And then I’m all goosebumpy, smiling, welling up and spilling over with a few relieved, grateful tears. I have no idea what that tune is about, but sometimes a song and a moment just hit you like that. And as soon as I got back I started thinking about what other trips I’d like to take.

Furious 7

~ Mark

Furious 7. On the whole, much more of a soap opera than the previous movies. Or just opera. It’s grand, it’s sentimental. The series seemed to transition from heist flick into slightly more of a superhero ensemble piece. The mission and conflict is much more personal through and through, rather than practical.

The bus scene up there is not in any way ruined by the trailer. So much better than I thought. Other good stuff: I like how they set up and executed the staircase scene. And this one felt funnier than the previous ones. It’s a bit slighter and choppier in hindsight, but when I was watching they really played the whole range pretty well.

I also have to mention that it was difficult to watch at times, for real-life reasons. Seeing Paul Walker doing dangerous things in cars, knowing the circumstances of his death, made me a little uneasy. In the theatre it made me think of Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight. It’s all too easy to make those eerie parallels with the real world. I trust that this one, too, will be easier to watch again later, because you also get to see him just having fun with his fellow cast, enjoying this ride like we do.

Filed under: The Fast and the Furious. I guess I have to go back and re-watch all of them now.

Run All Night

~ Mark

Run All Night. Well there’s nothing new here, but some good stuff, and also a groaner of a villainous re-appearance. I was surprise at how many nice photographs there are in this one, in particular some really lovely nighttime city scenes. Makes me more curious about Unknown and Non-Stop.

Top Five

~ Mark

Top Five. Let’s see, a movie about an actor known for more mass-market-friendly work who’s anxious about trying his hand at something more serious. Sounds familiar, but worked so much better for me. I don’t follow the business side of movies very much, so I really hope this did well enough for Rock to do many more.