Blogarithms
Doug Kaye's thoughts on web services, web hosting and managed services.
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Security Solutions. I'm working on a comparison of solutions to web-services security problems, including VPNs, XML (Application) Firewalls, and Web-Services Networks (WSNs). My current thinking is summarized in the table below.
Let me know where I don't have it right.
Thanks.
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 10:53:11 PM 
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Intacto. (Intact, Spain) Of six films so far at the Mill Valley Film Festival, this is my favorite. Imagine Memento-like plot exposition with a sci-fi twist and great production. The premise is that certain lucky people have "the gift" that allows them to extract luck from others through physical contact. That's right--just touch or hug someone, take their luck, add it to yours, and leave them with none. Then imagine what exteremely lucky people would do with that power. I love films that keep me right at the edge of understanding, and that pull it all together as they reach a conclusion. The pacing isn't so much the action but rather the rate at which you figure out what's happening. Look for this one, coming from Lions Gate Films.
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 9:47:50 AM
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Divine Intervention. (Yadon Ilaheyya, Mill Valley Film Festival) Six films so far, and this is the only one we haven't liked. It was billed as, "the most talked-about film at this year's Cannes Film Festival," but this Palestinian film simply left us asking, "Huh?" It tries to be surrealistic, but it's just boring. Some people left the theatre trying to figure it out. I didn't even care. Yes, the film opens with teenagers chasing Santa Claus in Palestine, and there's a big red ballon with the face of Yasser Arafat that floats past the guardpost at Ramallah. Maybe if you've been to the West Bank you'd find it more meaningful, but not me. Skip this one.
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 12:55:55 AM
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The Stone Raft. (La Balsa de Piedra, Mill Valley Film Festival) Imagine a crack in the Pyrenees that causes the Iberian Peninsula to break away from France and float into the Atlantic. That's the premise of this magical-realism genre film by George Sluizer. Five strangers discover they have strange connections to one another and embark on a Spanish/Portugese road trip. You'll never predict where the script is heading, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. A great cast, and superb cinematography and editing. One of those nothing-else-quite-like-it films.
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 12:48:08 AM
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Standing in the Shadows of Motown. (Mill Valley Film Festival) The Funk Brothers were the faceless musicians responsible for more #1 hits than the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Elvis combined, and this is their film. Made lovingly by a true fan, Paul Justman, it's more upbeat and fun that it's critical of the music industry or the band's anonymity. Some of the greatest (including the awesome bassist, James Jamerson) have passed away, but most are still playing. About one-third of the footage is of a concert of them playing Motown classics (thankfully with the original arrangements) with younger vocalists including Chaka Kahn, Ben Harper, Bootsie Collins, and others. But when Joan Osborne finishes her rendition of What Becomes of the Brokenhearted? (written by three of the band's members), even the film audience cheers. I you're over forty, this film documents a signifcant part of your life. Even if not, it's a lot of fun. It will be released shortly by Artisan Entertainment, and there's an audio CD already out. Looks like a good DVD, too.
Posted Friday, October 11, 2002 12:31:38 AM
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