Kelson Reviews Stuff - Page 15

I used to really like Feedly. It’s web-based, so you can jump around to any desktop or laptop. I used an IFTTT app to save bookmarked posts to Pocket. And it’s got a good Android app that’s easy to use and works well. But lately they seem to have been focusing more and more on the business use cases of “keep an eye on your competitors/market/employees/latest trends/whatever” and getting pushy over their paid tiers. And they still haven’t done anything about the basic use case of downloading the RSS/Atom when there’s a connection so you can read them offline. There are plenty of places where cell service is sparse, slow or flaky, and plenty of situations (say, you’re riding a train to work) where cell data isn’t even possible, and they don’t all have wi-fi.

I’ve since switched to self-hosting NextCloud News, and syncing my subscriptions and read/unread status across mobile and desktop apps like NewsFlash.

I’ve been cross-posting my book reviews to online bookstores I’ve bought from, and I recently picked up some used books from Better World Books (which I’ve heard good things about). They do show reader reviews, but I couldn’t see an option to actually submit a review.

Just as well, because when I went looking, I found that, unlike most sites that accept user-submitted content, they actually do claim copyright over it, not just the usual “perpetual non-exclusive royalty-free license” that every site uses and occasionally someone notices and misinterprets as claiming ownership.

All communications, comments, feedback, bug reports, suggestions, ideas, content, and other submissions submitted to Better World Books through the Sites (collectively, “Submissions”) shall be and remain Better World Books’ property with all worldwide rights, titles and interests in all copyrights and other intellectual property in such Submissions hereby being assigned to Better World Books by you.

– Better World Books: Terms of Use

OUCH!

So…not going to cross-post there. (FWIW, Amazon, B&N, Kobo and Books A Million all agree that you retain your copyrights, and they only claim the usual non-exclusive license that their lawyers require in order to actually show your post.)

Hilarious and heartwarming tale of a girl and the monster who lives under her bed. Mostly one-off gags and short stories, arranged loosely into an arc where they meet, become friends, and learn about the “real” and monster worlds from each other.

Works great. You only have to set it up once (unless you’re adding or removing new lists/calendars), and then it seamlessly syncs your address books, calendars and tasks between your CardDAV or CalDAV server and your Android device, and you can use them with any app on your phone that uses the system calendars and contacts.

I can use my Nextcloud contacts with K-9, GMail, the built-in Contacts app or Fossify Contacts, and even for phone calls. OpenTasks works great for my to-do list. And I can use my Nextcloud Calendars with anything from Simple Fossify Calendar up through the Google Calendar app, and it all syncs up and down.

Note: With Nextcloud, syncing may be faster with an app-specific password.

On rewatching years later, The Phantom Menace is better than I remember. Attack of the Clones…is not. To be honest, I think it’s the weakest of the prequels and of the six that George Lucas was actually involved in.

I could see what they were trying to do, but it doesn’t hold together as well, and the story hinges on a romance that is, frankly, unconvincing. It’s like an early draft of a script went into full-blown production, but no one could tell Lucas, hey, maybe you should try something different here, or keep working on the dialog there, etc.

The effects are amazing. The music – John Williams is still at the top of his game here, and “Across the Stars” is one of the best Star Wars pieces written (up there with “Duel of the Fates” IMHO). There are cool concepts and interesting characters, and good actors doing the best they can with what they have. (When they can.)

And there are great moments too! Like Dooku telling Obi-Wan the absolute truth about the Republic having fallen under the sway of a Sith Lord, just in a way that Obi-Wan can’t believe it. Or Padme quietly picking the lock on her handcuffs in the background while Anakin and Obi-Wan argue in the foreground.

Mainly I think it needed more script revisions. And to let someone else direct it.

First-Viewing Twist

There was one thing that I remember making a big impact the first time I saw the movie, way back when it was new and the Clone Wars were still some mysterious thing that we knew happened between The Phantom Menace and the rise of the Empire.

The moment the Jedi arrived on Geonosis with zillions of clone troopers, their armor evoking Imperial storm troopers, it hit me: The Jedi are on the wrong side. They’re helping build the Empire, and the Geonosians’ coalition is the precursor to the Rebellion!

It quickly became clear that it was more complicated. Dooku’s heavy involvement with the Separatists despite being Sith showed that, along with the preliminary Death Star designs. And of course we now have another movie and multiple seasons of cartoons making it clear that Darth Sidious was running both sides of the conflict. There was no “right” side, and the Jedi were unwitting pawns like everyone else.

But that weird feeling of wrongness stuck with me through the end of the movie.