I.T. Erudio

Category: movies

  • life, humor, Star Wars

    It bothers me a little when a “random comedian” comes out and describes their “theory of humor” as being “pain.” Usually it is an “established” entertainer – and they present the idea that “all humor is based on pain” as being a form of received wisdom. Obviously anytime the word “all” creeps into the discussion…

  • Markets and Competition

    True innovation is rare. Ecclesiastes 1:9 is several thousand years old and tells us that “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” Of course when we aren’t talking about “big picture…

  • Random thoughts on Time, Distance, and Faster Than Light Travel

    The good folks at Merriam-Webster give us 14 definitions for “time” as a noun, another 5 as a verb, and then 3 more as an adjective. A quick peek at the etymology tells us that the “time” came into the English language by way of Old English and (Old Norse) words for “tide.” That “time”…

  • The GREATEST movie of ALL TIME

    well, the obvious problem with the title is “how do you define ‘great’?” of course everyone that has answered the question has been “correct” – “greatness” is determined by individual tastes. Consider that the credit for creating the “modern summer blockbuster” belongs to “Jaws” (1975) – which was the “greatest box office success” of all…

  • Jaws, sequels in general, and Steven Spielberg

    Jaws – 1975 There have been a couple documentaries about the 1975 blockbuster “Jaws” — which probably illustrates the long term impact of the original movie. Any “major” movie made in the era of “DVD extras” is going to have an obligatory “making of” documentary – so the fact “Jaws: The Inside Story” aired on…

  • George Lucas, Jedis, and the Knight errant

    Full disclosure: “Star Wars” was released in 1977 – when I was 8ish years old. This post started as a “reply” to something else – and grew – so I apologize for the lack of real structure – kind of a work in progress … I am still a “George Lucas” fan – no, I…

  • geeks, nerds, and reboots

    memes Merriam-Webster tells me that the word “meme” dates all the way back to 1976 (coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene) with the meaning of “unit of cultural transmission.” Apparently the “-eme” suffix “indicates a distinctive unit of language structure.” Dr Dawkins combined the Greek root “mim-” (meaning “mime” or “mimic”) with “-eme”…

  • Capitalism, unions, THINK

    Capitalism“Capital” is simply “money and goods” used to produce more “money and goods.” Merriam-Webster tells me the first known use of the term “capitalism” goes back to 1833. It is slightly interesting that “Banking” goes back to 1660. Then the parable of the “minas” also comes to mind (where earning “interest” is mentioned in passing…

  • Breathless, Awards, Bogart

    I finally got around to watching “Breathless” (1960) – mostly because the movie has been mentioned from various sources in connection with the death of the actor that stars in the film (Jean-Paul Belmondo – he was 88). Now, I enjoy a good “noir” flick – but I tend towards the “hard boiled private eye”…

  • roots of happiness

    A study of characterJust watched “Citizen Kane” again – always near the top of the “best American movies” list, it wasn’t a commercial success when first released. PART of the problem is that the movie is very much a “character study.” I suppose the main character getting divorced twice might have been more interesting in…