My First Pull Quote

It’s been a long, long time since I cleared off my desk and posted anything that resembled a grab bag. For starters, I think that others out there do it a lot better than I can, and for seconds it runs counter to the long-form posts I’ve gotten into the habit of writing. However, today I feel like putting up some bullet points. Truthfully, it’s because I have a little to say about a few things instead of a lot to say about any one thing. So indulge me just this once?

Hey That’s Me!

In case you didn’t notice on Facebook or Twitter this weekend, I got a little bit of validation recently. In the middle of recording Matineecast 80, I received a tweet from local friend and critic Dave Voigt. He’d been sent some DVD’s to review from distributor eOne, one of which was a french animated film called THE SUICIDE SHOP. When he flipped the box over, there was a pull quote in bright white font saying “THE SUICIDE SHOP is delightful” credited to Ryan McNeil, The Matinee. Without missing a beat, Dave snapped a photo of the box and tweeted it to me (I’ve snapped a new photo myself which you can see above).

Pretty cool huh?

I didn’t know it was going to be used (they never reached out to me asking if they could use it, nor do I think there’s any rule saying they have to). Here’s the original review it came from. The line they pulled amuses me, and when you read the full sentence, you’ll understand why.

It’s funny, just days before this happened, I remember being full of pride myself as my Aussie fried Tom Clift got a pull quote in the trailer for Joss Whedon’s MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING…then I get my own turn. This doesn’t really change much – the dvd and a token will get me on the streetcar – but I can’t help but feeling that things are starting to change here on Walton Mountain.

(ask your parents kids)

Whatcha Reading?

I was one of many caught a little bit off guard yesterday when Google announced that come July, they will be shutting down Google Reader.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, because just a few weeks ago Corey Atad called me a dinosaur for still using it. What can I say? It’s simple, it’s convenient, and it’s an easy way to keep tabs on what many of my fellow bloggers are doing. It’s actually ther backbone of every Friday’s “Everybody’s Talkin’ ” post.  What’s more, at the risk of underlining a great misunderstanding of what goes into these sorts of systems, it didn’t seem like it was all that difficult to maintain.

I guess that’s the surprise. That something so seemingly simple is deemed by its proprietors to be inefficient and targeted to close. But such is the world we live in where everything comes down to dollars and sense.

Can anyone suggest another RSS reader for me to switch to?

Passing the Hat Around

The biggest news yesterday centred around the Kickstarter campaign for a potential Veronica Mars movie. I have no opinion on the show (never watched it), so I likewise have no opinion about whether or not a film based on the show is a good idea or a bad idea. I do have one simple question though:

If a big budget Hollywood film reaches out to its fans to help fund it, and then expects its fans to pony up $8 – $13 for a ticket when the film actually arrives, isn’t that the very definition of double-dipping?

That about does it. What’s new with you?

20 Replies to “The Little Things”

  1. It sucks that the Google Reader shuts down, but there are alternatives. You can do an export from Google Reader which you can import in some sites. Netvibes or Feedly are alternatives, the last one not even needing import if you log into it…it will automatically move it.

    1. Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll give each one a glance with a few different feeds and see which one works the best.

      it might also come down to wish looks best on a system AND on my phone.

  3. I’m completely with you about Google Reader. I’ve dedicated an entire post to it, which I’ll keep updating as soon as I come across new alternatives.

    I haven’t managed to grasp any of the ones I’ve looked at so far. I don’t want all those images and boxes and stuff. I want it to look plain and to be super easy to use like Google Reader. 🙁

    1. Jessica, check out netvibes…it does show boxes in one view, but if you press the slider at the top of the page it will look very similar to Google Reader.

    2. Been looking at it but it drives me nuts. I can see how to add feeds, but not how to remove them! Want to get rid of the hundreds of feeds that come by default. Don’t find any removal button. So unintuitive!

    3. We’ll survive I’m sure – we always do. It’s crazy what little corners of the internet we get so accustomed to using, isn’t it?

      Whatever reader you switch to, hopefully it keeps you dropping by this space as often as you do!

      1. I started using feedly for android (I believe it’s avaialable for iOS) and it seems great thusfar… only thing I’m questionable on is this magazine presentation format all these other rss readers apps are about…

  8. I tried getting into Google Reader, but I always let the new posts accumulate for days (or weeks). As such, it’s no big loss for me and I still get all my news through Twitter and Facebook.

  9. Congrats on the quote Ryan – I do love when nice things happen to good people. Google Reader didn’t work for me – like Sean, posts would just back up for days and days.

  10. For those like Sam and Sean who don’t use Google Reader (or other RSS feeds), how do you keep on top of your favourite blogs? Do you just visit your blogroll every now and then? Assume that Facebook and Twitter will give you all the links you want?

    Not being critical of course – I certainly couldn’t keep up with my many feeds – but I felt I could at least keep up with where I stood.

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